Alacia
by danceisthewindowtoyoursoul
Summary: Prequel to my stories "Our Little Secret" and "It's Moments Like These". This is the story of everything that happened from the point Cat left New York, all the way until Lacey's first birthday and maybe even a little further beyond. Technically don't need to have read the other two stories because it's a prequel, but "Our Little Secret" might give some plot insight.
1. Chapter 1

The small one bedroom apartment in the middle of New York City is quiet with the exception of the ceiling fan whirling around inside the bedroom to keep it's occupants cool. All is still, but Cat Valentine's head is spinning.

She had found out she was pregnant just around eighteen hours ago, and if she was doing the math right, she could be anywhere from one to seven weeks along. But around eight hours ago, she had found out that her boyfriend, the baby's father, didn't want to have kids. In fact, he spent the entire taxi ride home ranting about how much he detested the idea.

Cat couldn't believe she had acted so stupidly and irresponsibly. How could she have dated this man for six years, and never once brought up the idea of maybe one day having kids? How could she have gotten pregnant in the first place? She's on the pill, and even though she forgets from time to time, they always use a condom, and it's only ever broke once...or was it twice...? Regardless, they've been careful. She loves him so much, so much she can't stand the thought of ever having to be without him...but in the past eighteen hours, she's come to love the little human growing inside of her just as much, maybe even more. When she tells him one of three things will happen:

One, he'll be livid. He'll demand she abort it, because he doesn't want it. He'll say it will mess up their lives and that they won't be able to afford it. And she'll be heartbroken.

Two, he'll be pissed. But he'll let her keep it long enough to find someone else to take it for them once it's born. For nine months, he'll ignore it and act like it's not even there, and once it's born, another couple will adopt it and they'll have to act like nothing had even happened. And she'll be heartbroken.

Three, they'll argue. And maybe she'll win, maybe he'll accept what has happened and they'll keep the baby and raise it together, but only because he'll feel like he's obligated to. Then, after a few months, he'll feel obligated to marry her. They'll be happy for a while, but soon she'll realize that he felt forced into a life that he didn't want, that he's miserable. And she'll be heartbroken.

No matter what happens, it's going to end in heartbreak. She knows that.

"Robbie?" She whispers into the previously silent bedroom

He doesn't respond. She stops to listen for a response, but hears only the steady sound of his breathing instead.

"Robbie?" She repeats "Are you awake?"

Again, no response.

Her head is still spinning, she's not sure what to do. So many thoughts are rushing through her head, should she do this? Or that? Or this? She doesn't know. She can't wrap her head around what's happening to her right now. Her breathing grows heavier and her stomach starts to twist. She wants to think that it's all in her head, but the longer she ignores it, the worse it gets. Eventually, she just can't ignore it anymore and takes off running towards the bathroom, heaving what feels like an endless stream of vomit into the toilet.

The chicken alfredo she had for dinner earlier and the ice cream they had gotten just after Robbie broke the news about never wanting kids tastes terrible mixed together and coming up the second time around. But no matter how hard she tries, she can't seem to stop the disgusting liquid from pouring out of her mouth.

Within minutes, someone switches the bathroom light on and kneels behind her, pulling her hair back behind her shoulders so it doesn't get in the way.

"Shh..." Robbie comforts her "It's alright...I'm here."

Eventually, there's nothing left for her to throw up anymore, and she just sits there gagging, until eventually, that stops too. She wipes her mouth with the back of her hand and leans back against her boyfriend, who is now sitting on the floor behind her.

"Guess the super rich Italian food followed by the super rich ice cream wasn't such a good idea, was it?" Robbie chuckles, gently rubbing her arm

"Guess not..." Cat sighs, even though she knows it wasn't the food itself

This is the start of morning sickness.

"You think you're done?" He asks

"I don't think there's anything left in there to come back up..." She admits

"Come on..." He whispers, standing up "Let's get you back to bed..."

He pulls her gently to her feet and guides her back to bed, walking slowly with her as not to upset her stomach any more than this whole situation already has. She lays down and he covers her with the sheets, then retreats to the bathroom and comes back with a damp, cool washcloth and places it on her forehead.

 _This is why I love him_. She thinks _He's so considerate_.

But if he knew this was morning sickness caused by a baby, and not food poisoning like he thinks it is, he would probably be acting differently. He probably would've been researching abortion doctors on his cell phone while he was holding her hair back.

"Don't worry about those errands we were going to run in the morning..." He whispers to her, gently pressing a kiss to her forehead "I can handle them on my own."

"No, Robbie...I'm fine." She insists "I'll come with you."

"No, just stay here and rest, I'll be fine." He assures her

"You're sure?"

"Of course I'm sure." He nods "Now get some rest, you'll need it if you're going to sleep this off as soon as possible."

"Okay..."

"Wake me up if you need anything, okay?" He tells her "I love you."

"I love you too."

She's not lying. She loves him more than she knows how to express with words. Which is why she's made her mind up, she knows exactly what she has to do. And even though both of them will end up heartbroken...in the end, it's what's best for both of them.


	2. Chapter 2

Cat pretends to be asleep when Robbie leaves the next morning. He kissed her goodbye on the cheek, not wanting to wake her, whispered 'I love you' in her ear, then left the apartment to run the errands they were supposed to do together. She stays completely still until she's sure he's out the door and gone for good. Then, she grabs her phone and immediately starts looking for one way plane tickets back to Los Angeles.

She can't stay in New York, she can't. There's too big of a risk. He'll either find her, or they'll run into each other accidentally somewhere, neither scenario ends well. She has no choice but to return to Los Angeles. Her family is there, her friends are there, they'll be able to help her. She needs all the help she can get, so she has to leave the city she had fallen in love with her freshman year of college and return to the one she tried so hard to leave behind.

Tear's fill Cat's eyes as she stuffs basically everything she owns into suitcases. She doesn't have time to fold anything, or wash any dirty clothes, it has to go as is. As she fills suitcase after suitcase, tears stream down her face, she doesn't _want_ to leave him. She loves him, but his words ring louder and louder in her ears with each minute that passes.

 _"That is the exact reason I won't have kids! They're messy, they're rowdy..."_

He had sounded so harsh, so angry, so persistent. The fury she had seen in his eyes broke her heart. But the only thing she loved more than him was this baby. All her life she had wanted to be a mom, and now that the opportunity had presented itself, the man she loved won't even get on board with the idea. Just her luck, she's beginning to think happy endings are next to impossible.

She books a 4:00 flight back to Los Angeles and gathers the last of her belongings, shoving them into a bag. Robbie will know something is wrong the second he walks in the door, the apartment is half empty for crying out loud. But she needs to leave a note, she'll feel better if she does. So she goes to the desk in the living room and searches through the drawers until she finds a notepad and pen.

 _Dear Robbie,_

 _I know you're probably very confused and let me just say right off the bat, I'm so sorry Baby. This was one of the hardest things I'll ever have to do, but it's the right thing to do. At least, I hope it is. In the long run, it's what is best for both of us, you'll just have to trust me on that.  
If I know you, you'll probably try to come looking for me. I'm begging you not to. Like I said, this is what's best for you and for me. Don't bother our friends about it, it's not fair to them.  
Please don't think this isn't because I don't love you anymore. I do. I love you so much, Robbie. And that's why I have to do this. You're going to hold a very special place in my heart for the rest of my life and I can assure you that you are a part of my life that will never ever be forgotten. You're going to move on from this. I know that night seem impossible right now, but you will. One day, you're going to make another girl very happy, and she's a very lucky girl. I'm so sorry for having to hurt you like this, I wouldn't have if I could avoid it, but I just can't. Please try to understand._

 _Love Always,  
Cat_

She rips the piece of paper off of the notepad and leaves it on the coffee table. It's cryptic, but it will have to do. She needs to get out of here, she's running out of time and he'll be back soon. So with one last look around the apartment they had both called home for the past two years, she grabs her bags and heads downstairs to the awaiting cab with tears spilling down her cheeks.

* * *

When her plane touches down in Los Angeles at close to 11:30 that night, she's not surprised to see that she has nineteen missed calls from Robbie, seven voicemails, and close to forty text messages. She had kept her phone turned off during her layover in Nashville for this exact reason, she doesn't know if she can bare to read them. So she does what she promises herself she would, she deletes everything. She doesn't read any text messages, she doesn't listen to any voicemails, she doesn't return a single call. She blocks his number, and deletes his contact. All before she's even reached baggage claim.

She thinks she might be going crazy, reacting this way, taking this many precautions. But like she's been trying to convince herself for almost twenty-four hours now, this is what's best for _both_ of them.

"Cat!" She hears someone calling her name as she pulls one of her suitcases off of the carousel

When she turns towards the voice, a wave of relief washes over her.

It's her dad.

"Hi." She smiles, a sighing with relief

She called her parents from LaGuardia. They know that she had left Robbie, but she didn't tell them why. She just told them that she needed to come home, and they had happily agreed to come get her. Even though it had only been a week since they last saw her at her NYU graduation ceremony, they missed having their little girl in Los Angeles with them.

She runs to hug him as he approaches, gladly welcoming his warm embrace. She doubts he will be this loving once he discovers why she had to come home, but for right now, she needs her Dad.

"It's so good to see you." He tells her "I missed you."

"I missed you too." She sighs, reaching down to grab her other bags

"I've got it." He assures her "You carry what you've already got there."

"Okay..."

He grabs the rest of his daughter's bags and together the two of them start walking towards the parking garage.

"Your mom will probably be waiting up for you when we get home." Cat's dad informs her "She misses you terribly, you know."

"I know..." Cat chuckles "She calls me at least once a week to remind me."

But Cat has this awful feeling deep down inside of her that once she breaks her news to her parents, neither one of them will want to see her ever again.


	3. Chapter 3

The following morning, Cat awakes in her childhood bedroom slightly alarmed and confused. It's only when she rolls over to check her phone and finds it spammed with notifications that she remembers where she is and why she's there.

She left New York yesterday because she's pregnant. She wants to keep the baby, but Robbie wouldn't want it. So instead of ruining his life forever, she just left it. Robbie is a good guy, once he gets over what happened, he'll move on, even if she can't. She has to remind herself that because she loves him as much as she does, she has to do what is best for him. And what's best for him is to not have her or this baby in his life, as painful as that's going to be for them both.

Sighing to herself, she unlocks her cell phone and unfriends and then blocks him on Facebook, Snapchat and Twitter as well. She even goes as far as to log in to her old Hollywood Arts Slap account and block him there too. Cutting him out of her life like this feels like someone is plunging a dagger straight through her heart, especially because everything was just fine seventy-two hours ago.

Eyeing her suitcases and bags in the corner of her room, she wonders if it's even worth it to unpack. She can't hide this new secret from her parents forever, and once they find out, she knows for a fact they won't be pleased. She decides she's better off leaving them for now, and heads downstairs to say good morning to whoever is awake, if anyone is awake.

When she reaches the bottom of the stairs, the smell of eggs and bacon cooking in the kitchen slowly wafts its way into Cat's nose. For a brief second, the familiar smell makes her happy to be at home, until her stomach starts to twist into knots and the familiar nauseated feeling she had two nights prior returns. She sits down on the bottom step, resting her head in between her knees and praying that one of her parents doesn't walk in and see her like this, for close to five minutes until the feeling subsides and she feels as close to normal as possible.

Her dad is sitting at the kitchen table, her mom is at the stove, cooking the food that had made her sick. Her dad looks up from his newspaper and smiles at her. It's a warm, friendly smile. It's familiar, it makes her feel good.

"Good morning, little college graduate of ours." He grins "We weren't expecting you up this early, you got in late last night."

"I wasn't expecting on getting up this early." Cat admits "I just woke up and couldn't fall back to sleep."

Because her ex-boyfriend and father of her unborn child spammed her phone to the point where she thought it might explode.

"Do you want some bacon, sweetheart?" Her mother asks "Eggs? Toast? There's plenty of food here for you."

"Maybe just some plain toast." Cat nods "I'm not feeling so great."

"You're not sick, are you?"

"I hope not." She lies "I don't want to spend my first few days back in town holed up in bed."

"Well if it's something you need to sleep off, there's not shame in staying in bed for a few days." Her mom assures her, walking over and feeling her forehead "Hm, you don't feel warm."

"Mom." Cat rolls her eyes "I'm twenty-two. You don't need to check my temperature for me."

"I just miss the days when you needed me." She sighs "Now, come sit down. Let's talk."

"About what?"

"Well, usually when someone makes the decision to move cross-country, it's a long thought out process. Not something that happens in a matter of hours."

"You are back here permanently, aren't you?" Her father asks

"I am." Cat nods "At least for now. But I don't plan on ever going back to New York."

"I thought you loved New York?"

"I do." Cat sighs "I always will...it's just, Robbie and I had a bit of a falling out."

Another bold-faced lie.

"Oh sweetie..." Her mom frowns, reaching out and grabbing her hand "I'm so sorry."

"Did he cheat on you?" Her father suddenly becomes very defensive "Did he hurt you? You know I've threatened that boy within an inch of his life to be good to you and he promised that he would. I swear to god if he broke that promise..."

"No, Daddy, no." Cat shakes her head "He didn't do anything wrong. We just...we wanted different things. And I think graduating and getting thrown out into the world for the first time made us realize that."

"So he didn't dump you?"

"No." She shakes her head "I guess if we're speaking technically here, I instigated this."

"I'm sorry, baby." Her mom pulls Cat into a tight hug "We're here for you, you know that right?"

"Of course I do, Mom." Cat smiles "Of course I do."

But how long will that statement be true?

"Well." Mrs. Valentine stands up, brushing out the wrinkles on her clothing "No use dwelling on things that are behind us right?"

Cat nods.

"Have you contacted your friends that are here?" Mr. Valentine asks "Jade? And Tori?"

"Well, I've spoken to them recently." She tells him "But they don't know I'm back here yet. I'll probably call them later and see if they want to get together for lunch or something this afternoon."

The only upside to this entire situation seems to be is that Cat is back in the same city as her two best friends again. The only person she had out in New York was Robbie, she missed having her two best friends around. And now that she's back, she'll be able to help Tori with her wedding preparations. The wedding is set for the beginning on July and Cat couldn't be happier for her friend.

"Feel free to invite them back here if you want." Her mom offers "I miss having the house full of you girls."

"We'll see." Cat laughs "Something tells me we'll have a lot to catch up on."


	4. Chapter 4

"I've missed you so goddamn much." Jade West says, wrapping her arms around Cat's shoulders and pulling her in to a tight hug

"I missed you too." Cat smiles, hugging her friend back

"Seriously though." Jade laughs "I don't remember giving you permission to permanently move to the opposite side of the country!"

Cat is about to just rip the Band-Aid off and tell her friends that she's actually no longer living in New York, but then Tori steps in and decides it's her turn for a hug.

"You're here a whole month early!" She exclaims "We get to see you more in two months than we usually do in a year!"

Everyone with the exception of Cat and Robbie had gone to school somewhere along the west coast. They had just happened to be the oddballs that chose New York.

"Yeah, I'm here." Cat chuckles "Come on, let's go inside."

The three women step inside their favorite café in downtown Los Angeles, and make a beeline for their usual booth in the back corner of the building. They had spent many nights here throughout their high school careers, gossiping and giggling about boys, studying, or just simply talking and enjoying each other's company. It was like their safe place, not to mention the food was fantastic.

"Soooo..." Cat smiles as they slide into their usual seats "How is the wedding planning coming along?"

"Everything is finally falling into place." Tori grins "I can't believe in less than two months I'm going to be Mrs. Harris."

"Thanks for leaving me stranded to help her all on my own." Jade nudges Cat's arm "I'll remember that when you get married."

"It's not my fault I've been on a different coast! I've helped out as much as I could."

Which is true. When Tori couldn't decide between two different shades of pink for her bridesmaid dresses, there had been an emergency midnight Skype call, or at least midnight east coast time. Much to Robbie's dismay, Cat had stayed on video chat with Jade and Tori for almost an hour, arguing over which shade matched the theme the best. Eventually, they had decided on the brighter, cheerier shade, and Jade sulked for a week.

"Yes you have." Tori agrees, looking at Jade "And I appreciate that."

"I was joking." Jade rolls her eyes "But if I can be completely honest for a second, I seriously thought it would be Cat and Robbie getting married first. No offense, Tori."

 _Ouch_. Still too soon for Cat's liking. It's not Jade's fault though, she doesn't know. No one really knows the details, at least not all of them anyways.

The waiter comes over to take their drink orders. When Jade and Tori both order coffee, Cat almost makes the mistake of following suit. But right before she opens her mouth, she remembers that she isn't allowed anything caffeinated for the next nine months, and decides on water instead.

"Speaking of Robbie..." Tori flips her menu open "Is he here? Did he come with you?"

"Um," Cat hesitates "No. No he didn't."

"Why not?"

"It's a long story." She sighs "But I think you guys need to know."

Noticing the sudden seriousness in their friend's tone of voice, both Jade and Tori sit up a little straighter, looks of concern crossing both of their faces.

"Is everything okay?"

"No." Cat shakes her head "Um, there's no real good way to explain this, so I'm just going to come right out with this. I'm back in LA permanently until further noticed. Robbie isn't with me because we're...well, we're not together anymore."

"Holy shit!" Jade blurts out, then immediately covers her mouth, remembering that they are in a public place and she should watch her language "What the hell happened?"

"I left him." Cat sighs, resulting in gasps from both of her friends "Like actually left him, left him. He went out yesterday, and I packed up and left."

"This happened yesterday?!"

"Yeah...I know, it's a lot."

"What happened?" Tori asks "Did he cheat on you?"

"No!" Cat assures them "No, of course not. He would never, it was...well we saw different futures for ourselves. So I figured it would just be easier for me to get it over with than to put both of us through months of suffering trying to figure out that we weren't right for each other."

The words felt like poison coming out of her mouth. She couldn't believe she was actually saying what she was saying. She still loved him.

"I've cut all ties with him." Cat continues on "He doesn't know where I am. And I would really appreciate it if you guys wouldn't tell him. It will be better for both of us if we just go on living without each other."

Tori and Jade are both shocked. Everyone thought that Cat and Robbie had been made for each other, and that they would be together until the day that they died. But this...no one saw this coming.

"What could you have possibly had such a disagreement on that it had to come to this?"

"He doesn't want kids." Cat explains "A little boy ran into him in the park the other night, smeared ice cream all over his shirt. He then proceeded to spend the entire cab ride home talking about how annoying, messy, and obnoxious kids are...I just couldn't do it."

It was no secret to Jade and Tori that Cat wanted more than anything to be a mom one day. Many high school sleepovers had been spent discussing what the names of their future children would be and who they really hoped they could have them with.

"I can't believe this." Jade looks to Tori "This is such a bombshell."

"You ready for another one?" Cat winces, afraid of the reaction she'll get when she enlightens them on the rest of the situation

"There's more?" Jade's eyes go wide

"Yeah..." Cat nods slowly "There's more. Um...the reason that this had to be such a...dramatic break up, for lack of a better word is because we were going to be faced with the whole 'parenthood' thing a lot sooner than I think either of us was planning..."

"You mean...?"

"I'm pregnant." She confirms her best friend's thoughts, brushing a tear from her eye "And I knew one of three things would happen. He would tell me to abort it, and I would be miserable. He would let me carry it to term, and then give it up for adoption, and I would be miserable. Or we would keep it, but I would be forcing him into a life he didn't want, and wouldn't be happy with, and that would make me miserable. So I ran, I didn't know what else to do."

Saying it out loud to someone for the first time has her overcome with emotion, and Cat can't stop herself from breaking down into tears.

"Cat, don't cry." Tori reaches out and grabs her hand across the table "Whatever you need, we're going to be here for you, right Jade?"

"Right." Jade nods "Seriously, you name it, we're on it. Even making sure Robbie doesn't find out about the kid."

Jade honestly can't believe she's agreeing to something so extreme, but this is Cat Valentine. They've been best friends since they were seven. Whatever her friend needed, she would do.

"I promise you, it will be okay."


	5. Chapter 5

Three days later, Cat finds herself sitting in an obstetrician's office, surrounded by posters covered in diagrams and illustrations explaining just about every stage of pregnancy. It's still so surreal to her that all of this is even happening. She's just barely become an adult herself, how on earth is she going to take care of a child? A child that will depend on her for everything he or she needs for the next eighteen years?

While she waits for the doctor, she finds herself daydreaming. She had always wanted to open up her own fashion boutique of some sort. She had no desire to be a fashion designer, but she loved the business aspect of it. That's why she had gotten a business degree, so she could open up her own store, and buy from designers. But doing something like that would take _years,_ not to mention a lot of money. Money she probably wont' have now that she's going to have another human being to take care of besides herself. She needs a job, and she needs one soon. Hell, she probably need more than one, two, possibly even three. This baby is her main priority now, the business and the store will have to wait.

There's a knock on the door and a woman enters the room.

"Hi there." She smiles, looking at the charts in her arm "Are you Caterina?"

"That's me." Cat nods "But please, call me Cat."

"It's nice to meet you, Cat." She extends a hand to her "I'm Doctor Evans."

"Nice to meet you too."

"So we're going to have to run a couple tests, just to confirm that you're actually pregnant." Doctor Evans tells her "You took a home pregnancy test, right?"

"Right."

"False negatives are very common, but I've never once run into a false positive, nor do I know of any doctors who have." She says "So it's just protocol, okay?"

"Kk."

They take a vile of blood and a urine sample, and Cat is left in the room by herself for another twenty minutes or so. She finds her mind wandering again. Is the tiny bump she noticed while she was changing this morning actually there, or is she just imagining it? Is her baby a boy, or a girl? Which one of them will it look more like? She has so many questions she won't know the answer to for what will feel like an eternity.

Doctor Evans returns and confirms what they both already knew, Cat is pregnant.

"If you lie down, we can do an ultrasound and find out just about how far along you really are." Doctor Evans smiles

Cat swings her feet up onto the examination table, rolls up her shirt, and lays down while the doctor gets the machine ready to go.

"Is this your first?" She asks

"Yeah." Cat nods

"Well then we'll make sure we get you plenty of sonogram pictures for you and the father to show off."

"Oh, um..." Cat hesitates "The father isn't really in the picture."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Doctor Evans frowns

"It's okay. I'll be able to manage just fine on my own." Cat tries to assure both the doctor and herself

The screen on the ultrasound machine flashes to life and a mass of black and white images appear. Doctor Evans moves the wand around Cat's abdomen, dragging the freezing cold gel along with it.

"Do you see that little blob right there down in the corner?" The doctor points to the screen

"Yeah."

"That's your baby."

"Really?" Cat grins

It's so small, but she can't help but feel this overwhelming sense of love for it.

"Can you tell if it's a boy or a girl?"

"Oh no, not for a while now." Doctor Evans laughs "But in due time, don't worry."

"Okay." Cat nods, turning back to look at the screen again "Hi there, baby."

Never in her life had she ever experienced such a mixed emotion of pure joy and crippling fear.

* * *

"What on earth is this?" Mrs. Valentine asks, looking at the sonogram picture Cat had just placed down on the kitchen island

"What on earth is what?" Cat's father looks over his wife's shoulder "Oh..."

"That..." Cat takes a deep breath, knowing exactly where this conversation is going to lead "...is your grandchild."

"Nice try, sweetheart." Her father chuckles, turning away from the picture "You almost had me fooled there for a second. God, you can find anything on the internet these days."

"I'm not joking." Cat says seriously "I'm six weeks along, Dad. That's not just something I found on the internet, it's a real picture. I...I'm...I'm pregnant."

Both of her parent's faces turn from grinning to disappointed faster than Cat has ever seen in her life.

"We raised you better than this, Caterina."

"You think I did this on purpose?" Cat scoffs

"Who's the father?" Her own demands to know "Is it Shapiro?"

"Of course it's Robbie." Cat tells him

"Have you contacted him and told him?"

"No." Cat shakes her head "And I'm not going to. Robbie doesn't want kids, and he never will. If I had told him, he would have made me get an abortion."

"Well, that's what you should do."

She can't say that she's shocked. Cat had a bad feeling deep in her gut that this is where the conversation would head.

"No."

"No?"

"No." Cat says firmly "This is my body, this is my baby. I'll decide what I want to do with them both. No one else is obligated to make that decision but me. Not Robbie, not either of you, not anybody."

She has never spoken to her parents like this before. She's uncomfortable to say the least. Than again, they probably are too. They're not used to her not agreeing with everything they say. Her brother had always been the difficult child, she was the angel who could do no wrong in their eyes.

"You're only twenty-two." Her mom reminds her "And you're unemployed."

"I realize that." Cat sighs "But I love this baby, and I'll do whatever it takes to make sure it's taken care of."

"And you think that _you_ can take care of it?"

"I'm not getting rid of my baby." Cat says through gritted teeth

"Well, I won't have an unwed, pregnant, unemployed woman living in my house." Her mother tells her "So there's your ultimatum."

"Fine." Cat nods "I'll leave."

"Really?"

Neither Mrs. or Mr. Valentine expected this kind of response.

"Really." She says "I'll go to Jade's. Or Tori's. If you're not going to be supportive, I don't want you around anyway."

And with that she turns, running upstairs to her bedroom to gather her belongings and get out as soon as possible, tears streaming down her face.

"Caterina get back here!" Her father scolds

"No!" Cat screams back, entering her bedroom to gather up what little of her belongings she had actually unpacked "You've both made yourselves perfectly clear! I'll be out of here within the hour!"


	6. Chapter 6

The sound of a buzzing alarm clock fills the small, previously silent, studio apartment.

Cat reaches her hand up, fumbling, trying to find the off switch. She finally hits it, and silence falls again.

"Fuck..." She mumbles into her pillow

This isn't how she pictured her life turning out. She's 22 years old with a bachelor's degree in business. She shouldn't have to wake up at 4:30 am to make it to the first of the three jobs that she works.

But then again, she hadn't exactly planned on getting pregnant straight out of college either. And she certainly hadn't planned on running away from her stable life in New York and leaving the baby's father.

He didn't want to have kids though, he would've told her to abort the baby. She couldn't have done that. She did the right thing, even if it was the hard thing.

She has to convince herself she did the right thing every time the alarm goes off.

Unwillingly, she pulls herself out of bed and staggers into the bathroom. She's only been here in this apartment for about a week, she's still trying to get accustomed to the layout. She splashes cold water on her face and stares at her reflection in the mirror. The person staring back at her is almost unrecognizable. She looks exhausted, and she looks like she could puke at any moment. Both are true, lack of sleep and morning sickness can do that to a person. Oh well, nothing a little makeup can't fix.

She paints the makeup onto her face, pulls her vibrant red hair into a pony tail, then slips into the first of two uniforms she'll wear today. First, it's off to the Jet Vroom on East 3rd Street from 5:30 to 8:30. She has half an hour to get to the Macy's in the mall where she'll stay until 5:00. There's an hour for her find some dinner and then make her way over to Rosie's Diner, located only three blocks from her apartment, and she'll work there until she finally ends her day at 9:30.

After that, she'll come home, maybe take a shower, then crawl into bed until the alarm clock goes off again six hours later.

It's all for the baby, she's constantly reminding herself of that. There's a tiny life growing inside of her, and she's doing all of this for her son or daughter.

She exits her apartment, pulling the door closed and locking it. Then she makes her way down the steep set of stairs that descend into the back room of the store below.

"Good morning, Cat!" The store's owner greets her

"Mornin' George." She yawns

George Thompson. Thank god for him and his wife, Rebecca. They lived next door to the Valentine's basically all of Cat's life until their son, who was three years older than her, went off to school. Then they bought an apartment downtown Los Angeles, closer to the bakery they run and own together. Cat spent the last week of May and the first few days of June bouncing back and forth between Tori and Jade's houses until Rebecca was finally able to contact her. She had heard from Mrs. Valentine what was going on, and she and her husband couldn't help but sympathize with the little girl who had once been running through the sprinkler in their backyard. They let Cat live in the studio apartment for close to two hundred dollars less than the cheapest rent she could find anywhere else in Los Angeles.

"Have you eaten breakfast yet?" He asks

"No." She shakes her head "I must've forgotten."

"Here." He takes a muffin out of the tray on the table next to him "Fresh out of the oven."

"Thanks George." She smiles "I'll pay you back later."

"Don't worry about it." He waves her off "Now get going, you don't want to be late for work."

* * *

"It's my day off." Cat groans, answering her phone that following Sunday morning "What do you want?"

"Ouch." Tori laughs on the other end of the phone "What's gotten into you?"

"I work sixteen hours a day, six days a week." She reminds her friend "I'm tired."

"Okay, well it's almost ten o'clock." Tori informs her "And I'm in the alley behind the bakery with Raspberry Leaf tea and a chocolate chip scone that have your name on them."

"Fine..." Cat sighs "I'll be down in two minutes."

"I knew that'd work." Tori chuckles before hanging up

Cat throws the blankets off her body and stands up, slipping on a pair of flip flops and wrapping a sweater around her body, then going downstairs to retrieve her friend.

"You look terrible." Tori gasps when Cat opens the bakery's back door

"Thanks." Cat rolls her eyes, taking the tea and scone from her friend "Come on, come in."

Tori steps inside and both women begin making their way up the stairs.

"I'm serious." Tori says "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Like I just told you, I work sixteen hours a day, six days a week. I'm fucking exhausted." Cat pushes the door to her apartment open "Oh, and I'm pregnant too."

"Don't overwork yourself." Tori warns "It's bad for the baby."

"Yeah no shit." Cat takes a sip of her tea "Thank god they raised the minimum wage, otherwise I don't know what I'd do..."

"I told you Cat, if you need money I can-"

"I don't want your money, Tori." Cat holds a hand up "The last thing I need right now is to be indebted to someone. You're going to be a newlywed soon anyways, you need the money too."

"Whatever." Tori throws her hands up in defeat "Forget I said anything."

"Thank you." Cat sighs "I'm sorry about the mess, I don't get a chance to clean that often..."

"Cat, don't worry about it. You've seen my bedroom."

"True." Cat smirks "So what brings you by?"

"Just checking up on you." Tori admits "You're always working. And..."

"And?"

"And there's some wedding stuff I need to talk to you about."

"I know my bridesmaid dress needs to be taken out..." Cat laughs "I mean, I wish that wasn't the case, but it is soooo"

"That and..." Tori hesitates "Robbie..."

"Oh god..." Cat groans "Tori please don't make us sit together!"

Tori and Andre were getting married in three weeks, just in time for school to start, so Tori could start her new job at Hollywood Arts as a music teacher with a new name as well. However, Cat and Robbie had RSVPed together back in April, and Cat hadn't spoken to Robbie since she left New York almost two months ago.

"I don't actually think you're going to have to worry about that..." Tori tells her "He called Andre last night...he landed this great gig in the city, but they won't give him time off...he's not going to be able to make it."

"Oh thank god." Cat breathes a sigh of relief "I mean, I'm sorry about that Tori, I know he was supposed to be one of Andre's groomsmen, but he can't know about this baby. He'll...he'll make me get rid of it."

"Cat you didn't even tell him...did you?"

"No, but he made it very clear to me that he doesn't want to have kids. With me or with anyone."

"How are you going to hide a baby from him? Social media makes it pretty difficult to hide anything nowadays."

"Well, I've blocked him on most of it..." She sighs "And if for some reason he does find out, he doesn't have to know it's his."

"Are you hearing yourself right now?"

"I can do this on my own Tori." Cat says firmly "We don't need him."

"Are you sure?"


	7. Chapter 7

"You're really set on doing this on your own, aren't you?"

"Well, I would prefer that I do it with the help of the baby's grandparents..." Cat sighs "But if you're really that insentient on me terminating this pregnancy, then yes. I can do it alone if I have to. I refuse to murder my own flesh and blood, mother."

Cat's mother didn't start having kids until she was 28. Charles, Cat's older brother was first, and then she had Cat when she was 36. So the fact that her youngest was pregnant at twenty-two, not to mention un-married, was coming as a major shock to Diane Valentine. And she is trying to do everything she can to 'fix' the situation, despite the fact that her daughter doesn't think there's anything to fix.

"I just want you to realize that this could be a mistake." She tells her daughter "Your brother made too many of those and look where it landed him."

"Yeah, Mom. I know, my brother is in rehab, you don't have to remind me." Cat rolls her eyes "And like I said, if you don't like my choices, then I can do this alone."

Cat can't help but wonder what her brother would say about all of this. The two of them hadn't been close since he started high school and discovered drugs and alcohol, but he always seemed to be the most laid-back member of the family. She hadn't been old enough to understand at the time, but that might have been because of drugs also. Her parents bounced him from rehab facility to rehab facility throughout the years that Cat was in high school before finally giving up and shipping him off to a center in Utah. Cat hasn't heard from him since her eighteenth birthday. And she knows that it must be hard on her parents, finding out that the 'good kid' had gotten herself into a not so ideal situation, but if they were willing to help her brother, why weren't they willing to help her?

"I don't want you to have to do this alone, that's why I've been trying to send you all of that Planned Parenthood information!"

"No, Mom." Cat says sternly "You've been sending me all of the Planned Parenthood information because you want me to abort your grandchild."

She hopes referring to the baby as 'your grandchild' instead of 'my baby' will make her mother feel more guilty and back off of the subject. But three weeks in and she's not having much luck with that, or making any other kind of progress. Her mom is still insisting that she abort the baby.

"For God's sake, Caterina!" Her mother exclaims "You're only twenty-two years old! You're not married! You don't have a job-"

"You're right, I don't have _a_ job, I have three." Cat corrects her "And I found someplace to live. I'm taking prenatal vitamins and making sure the baby is taken care of. Can't you see, Mom? I'm _doing_ this. You can't stop me."

"I'm going to hang up the phone before I say anything that I will regret." Diane sighs "Good day, Caterina."

"Whatever, Mom." Cat hits the end button and shoves her cell phone into the back pocket of her dress pants "Screw you."

Phone calls like this have been occurring on a weekly basis since the night Cat first told her parents she was pregnant. She was six weeks then, now she's nine. The baby is due in February, it's getting to be the end of June now. Her two of her best friends are getting married in just over a week, a lot is happening. And it's happening fast.

"That sounded fun." Someone says "And by fun, I mean totally not fun at all."

Cat turns to see another employee sitting at one of the lunch tables a few feet from her. She thought that she had been alone, but apparently not. The faculty break room in Macy's is evidently not the best place to take a phone call if you don't want anyone to listen in.

"Sorry." Cat apologizes "I thought I was alone."

"Don't apologize, I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but sometimes you just can't help it." The woman chuckles "That was your Mom?"

"Yeah..." Cat sighs "Her and I haven't really been seeing eye-to-eye lately, my dad and I either."

"How old are you?"

"Twenty-two."

"Wow." She woman looks impressed "Did you go to college?"

"I did." Cat nods "Four years in the business program at NYU."

"If you don't mind my asking, if you have those credentials, why the hell are you working at Macy's?"

"I needed a job." Cat chuckles "I've gotta be able to provide for my baby when they get here, and the big fancy job will have to wait until we're on our feet and stable."

"Is there a dad?"

"Well, there is...but he's not in the picture. I don't think he ever will be."

Cat has no idea why she's giving this stranger all of this information. Maybe it's because someone is finally talking _to_ her instead of _at_ her, or maybe because she just seems friendlier than most people here.

"Well..." The woman stands up and walks over to Cat "No parents, no man, very young, and living on your own? I don't care what your mom says, sweetheart. You're a total badass."

"Thank you." Cat blushes

"If you need anything while you're here, my name is Ashley. I work in the management offices." She smiles "I'm usually pretty easy to find."

"Thank you." Cat nods "I'm Cat, by the way. Retail sales."

Ashley looks like she could probably be about the same age as Cat's older brother, give or take a few years in either direction. And sure, Cat had the full support of her friends, but they were all the same age and relatively young. Hearing that she had support and encouragement from someone older than her, someone who had more life experience than she did, it made her feel good. And even if she only felt good for five minutes or so until she needed to return to work and be heckled by more customers who didn't understand the return policy, it was five minutes more than she had felt it yesterday.


	8. Chapter 8

"Hey..." Jade knocks on the doorframe separating Tori's childhood bedroom to the adjacent on-suite bathroom "You alive?"

"Hm?" Cat mumbles, sitting upright, barely conscious "Who's talking to me?"

"Jade." The dark-haired girl says flatly "Cat. Did you sleep in here?"

"Not the whole night..." Cat yawns stretching her arms, slightly stiff from having slept slumped up against the wall "I've only been in here since like...I dunno four or four thirty."

"Morning sickness?"

"Yeah..." She begins slowly standing up "Which 'morning sickness'? Total bullshit. It comes whenever and wherever it wants to."

"Sorry, kid." Jade frowns "Are you at least feeling okay now?"

"Yeah, for now." Cat sighs "Is Tori up yet?"

"No." Jade shakes her head "I woke up and saw that you were gone and figured this was probably where you were. I wanted to make sure you were okay before I started worrying about everything else we have to get done in the next few hours."

"Well, I'm good for now." Cat assures her "Let's go wake up the bride."

"Be careful." Jade warns her friend "All it takes is one knee to the stomach and you no longer have a baby on the way."

"I'll be careful." Cat promises

Despite her new found maturity in light of her current situation, Cat is still only twenty-two years old. And she intends to wake up her best friend the way any twenty-two year old bridesmaid would.

"Tori..." Cat whispers, crawling into the queen-sized bed where the three women had slept the night before and laying down next to her friend's sleeping form "Hey sleepy lady, get up."

"Should I film this?" Jade asks

"Nah, she'll kill us." Cat smirks, rolling on to her side to face Tori and propping her head up on her elbow "Tori open your eyes. You have exactly sixty seconds."

"What?" Tori groans

"Thirty seconds..." Cat stands up on the bed

"Don't jump..." Tori begs "I'll get up."

"WAKE UP VICTORIA VEGA!" Cat begins yelling jumping up and down on the bed "YOU'RE GETTING MARRIED TODAY! YOU'RE GONNA BE VICTORIA HARRIS IN LESS THAN TWELVE HOURS!"

"Stop it!" Tori laughs "Cat, stop."

"Come on, Jade." Cat waves her friend over to the bed "Come jump with me!"

"I'll pass." Jade chuckles, walking towards them and offering a hand to Cat "Come on, get down from there. You were just puking."

"Oh no!" Tori exclaims, jumping out of bed "No, no, no, no, no, no. Do not puke on me!"

"I'm not going to puke on you." Cat smirks, sitting down on the bed "I'm good. For now."

"Holy shit." Tori runs a hand through her ratted hair "Guys, I'm getting married today!"

"Yeah." Jade can't help smiling at her friend's excitement "And if we don't start getting ready soon, we'll be late."

* * *

"I thought you said you were good." Jade frowns, rubbing Cat's arm

She's leaning against the door that leads to the church sanctuary, the door that's supposed to open in a matter of minutes to make way for Tori and Andre's wedding party. Andre is already waiting at the end of the isle, the organ music is starting to play, and Cat is ready to vomit.

"That was like an hour ago." Cat groans, resting her bouquet of flowers against her forehead "Like I said, whenever or wherever it wants to make an appearance, it will."

"Are you going to be able to walk?" Beck asks her

"I don't think it's the walking we're going to need to be concerned about." Jade sighs "Do you think you'll be able to stand during the service?"

"I'll be okay." Cat assures them both, noticing Tori and her parents approaching from behind her friends "Don't let Tori know that anything is wrong, okay? I don't want her to be worried about me, she should enjoy her wedding day."

"Is everybody ready?" The wedding coordinator asks, now that the entire party has gathered outside the sanctuary

"Here." Jade grabs a pamphlet off the table next to her "Fan yourself with this, okay? Maybe if you cool yourself off you won't feel as sick."

"Kk." Cat sighs, moving away from the doors so they can be opened

"Maid of honor? Best man?" The coordinator announces "Where are you?"

"We're here!" Beck raises his hand, moving through the mass of people with Trina right behind him

"Ready to walk?"

"Absolutely." Beck nods

The doors to the sanctuary are opened and Trina and Beck start down the isle; Jade turns and gives Cat one last reassuring look. She nods, Jade returns to her spot in the bridal party lineup.

"You sure you're okay?" Brandon, Andre's college roommate who had been called in at the last minute to replace Robbie, asks her

"I'll be fine." Cat nods "Already starting to feel a little better, I think I was just getting overheated."

"Okay."

He loops her arm around hers and Cat tosses the pamphlet to the side. As the two of them approach the doors to walk down the isle, she can't help but look down. The dress is tight, it's supposed to be, and she doesn't have much of a bump yet. So unless you knew there was a baby to be looking for, you wouldn't be able to tell.

Brandon and Cat make their way down the isle, followed by Jade and Andre's cousin, Marcus. The little girl who lives next door to Andre's grandma is their flower girl, and the ring barer is the little boy Tori babysat for all through high school.

 _Beck and Jade will be the next one's to get married_ Cat thinks to herself _And maybe my child will be their ring barer or flower girl_.

The service is long, and the air conditioning shuts off halfway through, but it's plain to see that both Andre and Tori are very much in love and very excited to be getting married, so no one seems to be miserable. Not even Cat. Jade looks over at her every few minutes to make sure that she still has color in her face and doesn't look ready to puke. Much to both women's surprise, Cat makes it through the entire service without any issues.

When the bridal party takes pictures, Cat makes sure that her abdomen is hidden either by another person or by her bouquet of flowers. Just incase any of these pictures happen to make their way into Robbie's social media, he won't have anything to speculate.

As far as she thinks he should be concerned, she has moved on, and she is happy without him. Even if it's a lie.


	9. Chapter 9

The wedding reception is hard for Cat; it is a celebration of love after all. She's happy for Tori and Andre, but she can't help feeling just a little bit sorry for herself. Her and Robbie's breakup had been unexpected and almost involuntary, and while part of her wishes he was sitting here at the table next to her, the other part knows she needs to start moving on, otherwise she'll never be happy. She has to constantly remind herself that it's for the best. He wouldn't have wanted this baby, she does. He can live a happy life never having kids, but she wouldn't be able to. Besides, with his new residency show Tori had told her about, he's probably doing eight shows a week anyway, he wouldn't have a lot of time to spend with her if she had stayed.

Conclusion? Life sucks, and it isn't fair, but we go on living it anyway.

"Please?" Cat hears Beck beg

She looks over to see that he has his head resting on Jade's shoulder, looking up at her with puppy dog eyes. Cat can't help but chuckle to herself. Anyone close to the couple knows that Beck wants something from her, and the longer he annoys her the more likely she is to give it to him.

"In a little bit." Jade shrugs him off

"You said that like twenty minutes ago." Beck reminds her

"We just had a dance!" Jade exclaims "Be patient!"

"This is what you do at weddings, Jade. You dance!"

"What are you two arguing about now?" Cat chuckles

"This little boy here wants to go dance." Jade smirks, patting her boyfriend's head as he nods in agreement "But I'm waiting for the waiter to bring me my drink first."

"No." Beck pouts "You just don't want to dance."

"He's not wrong." Jade whispers to her friend

"Dance with him, Jade." Cat laughs "He's right, there's not much else you can do at a wedding."

"I can drink." She smirks "And if I have enough, he might get lucky later."

"I didn't need to know that." Cat shakes her head

She wishes she could be drinking right now, it might take some of the edge off and numb the pain. But she is not about to risk her baby's health for the sake of her own enjoyment.

"If you're so anxious..." Jade says to Beck "Why don't you go ask Cat to dance with you?"

"Cat..." Beck makes another puppy dog face "Will you come dance with me?"

"Oh I guess..." Cat sighs, smiling "Let's go, little boy."

"Thank you!" Jade says to her as she passes behind her chair

"You're welcome." Cat laughs

Beck leads her out to the dance floor and the two of them start swaying back and forth to the music.

"So, Mr. Oliver..."

"Yes, Ms. Valentine?" Beck raises an eyebrow at her

"Is any of this giving you any ideas?" Cat asks him

"What, the wedding?"

Cat nods.

"How much did Jade pay you to ask me that?"

"I'm asking out of my own curiosity." Cat tells him, tracing an x shape over her heart and then replacing her hand on his shoulder "I swear."

"I dunno." Beck grins "I've definitely started thinking about it, now that we're out of college and taking on 'the real world'. I want to marry Jade, I want to have kids with Jade. But I want to be more financially stable before we do any of that."

"I definitely recommend being financially stable before having kids." Cat chuckles

"Oh shit, I'm sorry Cat." Beck apologizes "I completely forgot there for a second."

"Don't worry about it." Cat assures him "Even I forget sometimes. It doesn't really feel real to me yet."

"I'm sure it will soon enough." Beck chuckles "Are you at least feeling better than you were earlier? You didn't look good."

"Much better." Cat nods "It's passed for the time being."

"Well that's good. You can enjoy yourself now."

"Yeah, for the most part." She shrugs "Just no alcoholic indulgences or wild partying."

"I'm so sorry, kid." He shakes his head "But hey, only...what? Like six more months?"

"Try seven and a half."

* * *

Morning sickness and outrageous hormone imbalances aside, Cat has decided that the absolute worst part of being pregnant is the lack of caffeine. Having to wake up at 4:30 six days a week and work a sixteen hour day with almost no breaks and absolutely no help of anything caffeinated? It's torture. Every night she gets home between 9:45 and 10:00, takes a quick shower, and is asleep within five minutes of climbing into bed.

Every night, except tonight.

Tonight, she can't seem to fall asleep, which she can't comprehend at all. She's still exhausted from the wedding a few days ago, and on top of that she should be tired from working all day. She feels tired, she wants to sleep, but she just _can't_.

She's scared.

Her baby will be here in February. And even though it's only July, she feels like the amount of time between now and then is almost no time at all. In seven months give or take a few days, there's going to be a little tiny person in this world calling her 'Mommy', they're going to depend on her to provide them with everything that they need, when she's barely able to provide for herself. That little tiny person is growing inside of her right now, they're already depending on her to keep them safe.

"You okay in there, baby?" She whispers

She doesn't know if the baby can hear her or not, she hasn't exactly had a lot of free time to be doing any research. She makes a note to buy herself a copy of 'What to Expect When You're Expecting' the next time she goes out shopping.

However, Cat _does_ know that the baby isn't very big yet, but she finds herself resting a hand on her abdomen anyway. There's a strange comfort in it.

"I want you to know that I love you very much." She tells it "Like so much, it's not even funny. And that's something I want you to know is never, ever going to change no matter what."

Because at the end of the day, not matter how frightened or scared she is, she really does love this baby.


	10. Chapter 10

Six weeks pass by in almost a blink of an eye.

Jade got a job at KTLA 5 News, writing the scripts that will show up on the teleprompter for the news anchors to read. She's not absolutely in love with the position, but it's a temporary living while she continues writing her first screenplay, and at twenty-two that's all she can really ask for. Tori started her new job as one of three music teachers at Hollywood Arts High School. If there's anything weirder to her than working at her alma matter, it's adjusting to her student's calling her 'Mrs. Harris'. It's a good weird though, one she doesn't mind getting used to.

Andre was fortunate enough to keep working at the record label he interned at during his last year of college. While he's still considered to be an 'intern', he's now a _paid_ intern. He and Tori purchased their first apartment and are settling in. They know not to fall in love with it, because their hopeful plan is to be moved in to a house in eighteen months or less, but for now, it's a great place to call home. Beck is still actively looking for acting jobs, he's booked a few commercials so far, and has an audition for a tv show in about a month.

Cat is now fifteen weeks pregnant, and in to her second trimester. Everything that was promised to her, about it getting easier as time goes on, has been false so far. Her morning sickness has yet to disappear, and is still coming at all times during the day. She gets constant headaches, and at night she sometimes gets so hot she has to sleep with no blankets on and both of her small windows open. Not to mention, the baby is continuing to grow, and her clothes are getting tighter. Cat herself is so tiny that the only way she can hide her little bump at all is to wear something completely over-sized, something all three places she's employed at would probably frown upon.

Her Jet Vroom polo still fits her okay, but she's had to buy new dress pants to wear with it. She's needed new clothes for Macy's, but thankfully her employee discount helped her out there. Her little yellow waitress dress she wears at Rosie's, however? That she definitely needs a size up in, she can barely get the zipper all the way up, and she feels like she's suffocating every time she puts it on. And she guesses that's probably not good for the baby.

Her mother is still insisting that she terminate the pregnancy. The further along Cat gets in her pregnancy, the harder she pushes. Cat's father hasn't spoken to her since she left their house back in late May after just coming back to Los Angeles, which is surprising to his daughter. All her life, he's always had an opinion on everything. And while she knows that he isn't happy that she's pregnant out of wedlock, she is unsure if he has as radical opinions as her mother does.

Thank god for Cat's friends though, they seem to be her only supporters. They try to see each other every Sunday, if possible, as they all work on the weekdays, and Cat's schedule is just so intense every other day. If morning sickness hits while she's around them, someone is always there to hold her hair back. Tori and Andre brought her back the cutest Paris-themed layette set from their honeymoon there. Jade and Tori come to doctor's appointments with her, the boys tag along too if their available. She's constantly getting text messages reminding her to relax or take a deep breath because stress can hurt both her and the baby. Although they're not family, they make her feel loved. They make her feel less alone. It makes her emotional to think about how blessed she is to have such great people in her life who care about her, and her child.

She brings that up one afternoon, while they're sitting in Tori and Andre's living room, eating Chinese takeout. That in turn, brings up a conversation about what her child will know them as, and what their children will know _her_ as, if they ever chose to have any.

"Do you want him to call you by your first names?" Cat asks "I mean, I figure we're too good of friends to have him calling you Miss West, Mr. Oliver, and Mr. and Mrs. Harris."

"Do not let your child call me Mr. Oliver." Beck says flatly "That's like the worst thing I can imagine. I won't respond to it."

"I want you to be known as whatever you want." She chuckles "It's completely up to you."

"I mean..." Jade breaks into the conversation "I, and this is just me personally, would prefer 'Aunt Jade'. You're practically my sister, and I kind of view that baby as my niece or nephew."

"Really?" Cat smiles

"Yeah." Tori agrees "I'm with Jade. I want to be Aunt Tori."

Hearing her two best friends say this to her means the absolute world to Cat, and her heart is so full at the moment it feels like it would burst. This is honestly where she hoped the conversation would eventually go, seeing as they had always joked about being aunts to each other's children back when they were in high school. But that was high school, before the real world. She's happy to see that their opinions on their little fantasies haven't changed.

"You can be aunts." Cat grins "That is one million percent okay with me."

"Wait a second." Andre stops her "If they get to be aunts, we want to be uncles."

"Of course you can be uncles!"

"I have a question." Beck raises his hand

"Yes, little boy?" Cat chuckles

"Can if he gets to call me Uncle Beck, am I allowed to refer to him as my nephew?"

"Only if it's a boy." Cat tells him "I'm afraid if it's a girl I have to draw the line there."

"You know what I meant." He smirks, rolling his eyes

"I know what you meant." She nods "Yes. You can refer to them as your niece or nephew. Whatever is appropriate given their gender."

"It's going to be a boy." Andre says confidently

"Oh you think so?" Tori raises an eyebrow at him

"Yup." Andre nods "I do."

"I think so too." Cat lies

Truthfully, she wants a little girl more than anything. A little boy who looks and acts just like Robbie would be too painful for her. Of course, she would love him unconditionally, but every once and a while it would really get to her that his father wasn't around. Not to mention, little boys are no where near as fun to dress up as little girls. So she's hoping that if she tries hard enough to convince herself that her baby is a boy, her string of horrible luck will continue and she will be wrong.


	11. Chapter 11

It's 9:00 on a Tuesday night, and Rosie's Diner is close to empty. There's two tables still occupied by customers, neither of which are sitting in Cat's designated section. She, along with the three other workers who are also unoccupied, assisted the busboys in cleaning off the empty booths and tables, and are now completing the busywork they had been given. Cat moves from table to table with a container of idolized salt and a funnel, refilling the salt shakers, barely able to keep her eyes open.

"I've been sent to assist you." A voice from behind her says

She turns to see a boy, probably around eighteen or nineteen, standing behind her holding the same supplies that she does. She recognizes him, he works here, he has the bright yellow Rosie's shirt to prove it, but she cannot remember his name to save her life.

"Okay." She nods "Thanks."

"You know, it's easier to just grab all of the ones that need refilling and fill them all at the same table." He suggests "There's less up and down and moving from place to place that way."

"That sounds like a fantastic idea." She admits

So that's what they do. They split up and gather the rest of the salt shakers that need to be filled, and meet back at table six. It's a booth, so sliding in is a little uncomfortable for Cat, but once she's in an situated, she's incredibly thankful to be off her feet for the first time tonight.

"I just want to go home." She sighs, twisting the lid off of one of the shakers "Today just feels like the day that will never end."

"Are you feeling any better?" The boy asks "Someone mentioned that you were feeling sick earlier."

"Hm?" She looks up at him "Oh, yeah, I'm better. I...I'm pregnant, and the whole morning sickness thing hasn't gone away yet. So I'm never actually _really_ sick, just...yeah."

The boy doesn't say anything, but gives her a sympathetic smile.

"Sorry." She apologizes "You didn't need to know that."

"No, I asked." He laughs "It's fine. You're Cat, right?"

"I am." She nods "You're gonna have to forgive me, I cannot remember your name to save my life."

"Drew." He chuckles "I'm Drew."

"Sorry." She apologizes again "Baby brain. I'm literally forgetting everything."

"Don't worry about it." He chuckles "So, I take it you're working here to put away a little extra cash?"

"Yeah." She nods "What about you?"

"My parents told me I needed to work here while I'm going to junior college if I wanted them to help me pay for my education." He explains "So, I work the dinner shift because I don't have any night classes."

"Here, as in Rosie's specifically?" Cat asks, tapping her finger on the table

"Yup."

"Why?"

"You know the owner? She's probably the one who hired you..."

"Bridget?" Cat clarifies "Sure. She's super nice."

"Yeah..." Drew chuckles "You get to call her Bridget, but to me she's 'Mom'."

"Oh." Cat smiles "That's..."

"I know." Drew laughs in agreement "There's ups and downs to being the boss's kid."

"So you must know who Rosie is then..." Cat says "Right?"

"Rosie? She's my grandma." He tells her "My grandpa opened this place up back in the fifties, she helped him run it. They're a little too old to be taking care of a restaurant now, so they passed it to my mom. But everything is still the same as it was then. Same recipes, same general menu, same uniforms..."

"Not gonna lie, the uniforms aren't my favorite." Cat admits, tugging at the collar of her dress "Kinda sock hop-ish."

"That's part of the environment, Cat." He teases

"I'm sure I'll like them better when I don't feel like a bloated whale all the time." Cat shrugs "But for the time being, not that enjoyable."

"When are you due?" Drew asks "If you don't mind me asking, of course."

"February."

"Oh, so not for a while."

"It's closer than you think." Cat chuckles

"Drew!" One of the cooks calls from the back kitchen "Your mom is looking for you."

"I'll be right back." Drew calls back to him "I'm being paged."

"Go ahead." Cat tells him "I can finish these."

"It was nice talking to you." Drew smiles, standing up "Have a good night if I don't see you before you leave."

* * *

"You are absolutely determined to make sure I never get any sleep, aren't you?" Cat says into the emptiness of her apartment

There's no one there with her, she's talking to her baby. She does it often, but only when she's one hundred percent sure they're completely alone.

She's hot, and she has a headache, making it hard for her to sleep.

"No, I know..." She sighs "You have no control over what my body does. This isn't your fault."

She swings her legs over the side of the bed and sits up. It takes everything in her not to grunt as she does it. Her baby bump is growing bigger and bigger with every day that passes, and since Cat was so tiny to begin with, it's twice as hard to work around.

Standing up, she walks over to the window on the wall adjacent to her bed undoes the locks. As the glass is slid upwards, shes met with a blast of cool air from outside.

"That's better, isn't it?"

She lingers by the window for a moment. All the windows are in the back of the apartment, so the only view they really have is of the brick wall and the alleyway behind the bakery. If you stick your head out far enough though when the window is open, you can see a bit of downtown, which at night is pretty cool.

It's nothing like New York though. There, on a clear day, Cat and Robbie could see the Empire State Building from their apartment. They were literally right in the middle of what she thought to be was the greatest city in the world. But it was no place to be raising a child on your own. Especially because Cat is the age that she is. Still, her heart hurts a little, just thinking about it.

"Los Angeles is home." Cat whispers "I grew up here, you're going to grow up here. It's going to be fine."

However, she's not sure if she's trying to assure the baby, or herself.


	12. Chapter 12

"Someone had better be sick or dying." Cat groans, answering her cell phone "You know the rule about calling me before eleven on a Sunday."

"I know, I know. I'm sorry." Jade apologizes "Nobody is sick or dying, we just wanted to make sure you were still up for a friend's day today. You weren't answering in the group message last night."

"Yeah, sorry about that." Cat sighs "The diner was fucking swarmed last night, and I was actually able to fall right to sleep when I got home. I didn't check my phone much."

"It's fine, don't worry about it." Her friend assures her "So. Do you want to do something today? We were thinking maybe a movie or something."

"Honestly, I don't know if I have the energy to get out of bed today." Cat admits "I feel like a piece of shit."

"Come on, Cat...I can't let you stay cooped up in your apartment by yourself _again_ this weekend, it's not healthy."

"If you take me to a movie, I'm just going to fall asleep. And honestly, burnt popcorn is one of the things that has been triggering my gag reflex."

"How are you still getting sick?" Jade asks

"My doctor says I'm just one of the unlucky ones." She explains "Jade, I'm really, _really_ sorry, but I just don't think I can leave the house today."

"No, it's fine. We get it." Jade sighs "Feel better, okay?"

"I'll try."

"Hey, Cat?"

"Yeah?"

"We love you." Jade says "Me and Beck and Tori and Andre. We all love you a lot."

"Thanks." Cat manages to smile "I love you guys too."

* * *

Cat falls back to sleep after hanging up with Jade, but only for another forty minutes or so until she's awoken again by someone pounding on the door to her apartment.

"What the hell?" She mumbles, throwing the blankets off of her body and standing up

It takes her a few seconds to find her balance, she's still adjusting to the new weight on the front of her body. As she walks to answer the door, she can't help but be confused. The only way to get up to her apartment is to come through the back door, which she would have to come downstairs and open for whoever wanted in, or to have George or Rebecca let you in through the bakery, and they're usually pretty careful about who they let past.

She looks through the peephole in the door, out to the landing at the top of the stairs that lead down to the first floor of the building. All of her confusion disappears when she sees who's standing there.

"What the hell, guys?" She shakes her head, unlatching the deadbolt and the security chain on the door "What are you doing here?"

"We haven't seen you in two weeks." Jade reminds her "We miss you, kid."

"How did you get up here?"

"We told the cute little old man in the bakery who we were and he let us in through the front." Tori explains "He was so nice!"

"That's George." Cat tells them "And he's not _that_ old, he's like our parent's age...Come in."

She opens the door wider and allows her two friends to enter into the apartment.

"You didn't bring the boys?" Cat raises an eyebrow at them as she walks away from the door

"Nah..." Tori shakes her head "We weren't really sure what kind of state you were in, and we didn't want to freak them out."

"Well we wouldn't want that, would we?" Cat chuckles, bending down to pick up a stray t-shirt from the floor "Oof..."

"Are you okay?"

"Fine." Cat nods, resting a hand on the small of her back "There's just something in the way that wasn't there before. Makes bending over a little difficult, makes doing anything more difficult really."

She throws the dirty t-shirt into the hamper in the corner and then sits back down on her bed, resting her head in her hands.

"Guys..." She whispers, fighting back tears "This is so much harder than I thought it was going to be..."

"Oh Cat..."

The two women each take a seat on either side of their friend, wrapping her into a hug from both sides. Their embrace causes Cat to lose control of their emotions completely, and she begins to cry.

"I can't...I can't even take care of myself..." She sobs "How the hell am I going to take care of him too?"

"What do you mean you can't take care of yourself? Cat, look at what you've accomplished in five months. You've got an apartment, you're working, you have an income, you're so fucking responsible it's not even funny." Jade says, rubbing her back "This kid is _so_ lucky that you're his mom..."

"Would you tell that to _my_ mom?" Cat shakes her head

"Is she still after you?"

Cat nods.

"Cat, don't listen to her." Tori sighs "Our parent's generation...some of them are still too stuck in the way that things used to be. They don't realize that nowadays it's not all that uncommon for babies to be born to unmarried parents, or for moms to be raising their kids on their own. Don't let her get to you like that, what you're doing is so amazing."

"Yeah." Jade agrees "And who needs her when you have us?"

"I like you guys way better." Cat manages to laugh, wiping away her fallen tears "I'm sorry. Sometimes I just start crying. I can't help it."

"Hormones. We get it."

"Is he moving around yet?"

"No..." Cat rests a hand on her bump "Not yet. The doctor said to expect it any day now, though. And next week, I'll find out if he's really a boy or not."

"That's so exciting." Tori smiles

"Yeah...it is." Cat grins "Do you guys want to come with me?"

"Of course we do!" Jade exclaims "Why wouldn't we?"

"I dunno." She shrugs "The boys can come too. They're going to have to deal with seeing some exposed skin though."

"I think they'll be okay."


	13. Chapter 13

"Wow." Doctor Evans looks surprised when she enters the examination room "I think this is the most people you've ever brought to an appointment ever."

Beck sits in one of the plastic chairs against the wall, with Jade on his lap. Tori is in the other chair next to them, and Andre leans against the wall.

"Who do we have here with us?" The doctor asks, sitting down and logging into the computer in the room

"Um, this is Jade and Tori, they've come with me a few times before." Cat re-introduces her friends "And then these are my two other friends Beck and Andre."

"Of course." The doctor nods "Ladies, nice to see you again. Gentlemen, nice to meet you."

Cat's friends all nod in agreement, smiling.

"Your chart says twenty weeks." Doctor Evans smiles at Cat "I'm guessing they're all here for the big gender reveal?"

"That would be the reason, yeah."

"Well I mean, we'd come whenever you ask us to." Jade says "But the gender thing...that's a plus."

"Well, unfortunately, the ultrasound is the last part of the appointment." Doctor Evans tells them "So you'll have to be patient."

"We've waiting five months, what's a few more minutes?"

"Great attitudes, I love it." The doctor smiles "Alright, standard questions first. How have you been feeling the past few weeks, Cat?"

"Terrible." Cat sighs "I'm still having morning sickness, I'm tired all the time. I get these really bad headaches that last for hours, and I have hot flashes a lot at night when I'm trying to fall asleep."

"Okay." The doctor nods, typing Cat's symptoms into her electronic chart on the computer "Unfortunately, the headaches, hot flashes, and difficultly sleeping. Those are all normal pregnancy hormones that we can't do anything about. The morning sickness, however, should have gone away by now."

"That's what I've been reading..." Cat nods

"Yes. It's actually dangerous for both you and the baby as we move further into your second trimester and eventually into the third." Doctor Evans explains "It's dehydrating you both, and depleting both of your vitamin supplies. Which is more than likely going to lead to you having trouble gaining the weight that you need to keep that little guy healthy."

As the words escape the doctors mouth, Cat is suddenly stricken with panic. Something could be wrong with her baby. Her breathing grows heavier and her heart feels like it might beat right out of her chest. She tries her best to keep a calm look on her face, but Jade can see right though her. She scoots off her boyfriends lap and walks over to Cat, leaning against the examination table, and squeezing her friend's hand tightly.

"Well what...w-what can we do to help it?" Cat asks, squeezing Jade's hand just as tight

"I'm going to start you with a Vitamin B6 supplement pill, okay?" Doctor Evans says "It comes over the counter, you can get it at Rite Aid. We'll start you on one 25 milligram pill, twice a day, in addition to your prenatal vitamins. If you don't start seeing results in the next week or so, give me a call and we'll have to start looking into other options."

"Okay." Cat nods slowly "And does...does that normally work?"

"I would say it works for about ninety-six percent of moms, yes." The doctor nods "Don't worry, Cat. We don't need to be on red alert just yet."

"Okay..." Cat breathes a sigh of relief, releasing Jade's hand

"The nurse weighed you and did blood pressure and temperature and all of that, right?" The doctor asks, turning away from the computer

"Right." Cat nods

"Well, then before we do this ultrasound, do you have any questions for me?"

"Is it okay that I haven't felt the baby moving at all?" Cat asks "I'm starting to get a little worried."

"Some moms won't feel their baby move until close to twenty-five weeks, and with your first baby it's normal for it to take a little longer." She nods "Don't worry. At first, it'll feel like butterflies in your stomach...but the bigger the baby gets the more you'll feel. Kicks, twists, punches, hiccups...all kinds of fun stuff."

"Okay, good. That makes me feel better." Cat smiles

"Do you want to find out what you're having?"

"Yes please." Cat grins

Doctor Evans starts to turn the sonogram machine on and Cat lays down on the examination table, rolling her shirt up just like she has for every other doctor's appointment so far.

"Skin!" Andre exclaims, shielding his eyes "Ah!"

"Oh stop it you!" Tori rolls her eyes, smacking her husband's arm "How many times have you seen Cat in a swimsuit in your life?"

"In his defense, there's a little more skin than there was back in high school." Cat chuckles "I've gained a little bit of weight."

"I'm just teasing you, Cat." Andre assures her

"I know you are."

Doctor Evans grabs the ultrasound wand and spreads the freezing cold gel across Cat's protruding abdomen. After about a minute or so, a soft thumping sound fills the examination room.

"What's that?" Beck asks

"That's the heartbeat." Cat smiles "Right?"

"Right." Doctor Evans smiles "And this baby has a very strong one, which is perfect."

She moves the wand around some more, and then turns the screen to face Cat and her friends.

"Here's the head." She points to the screen "And the arm...and the feet are over here."

For whatever reason, Cat can't stop smiling. That's her son or daughter on that screen.

"Are you excited?" The doctor asks as she turns the screen back towards her and moves the wand down towards the baby's legs

"Yeah." Cat grins

"Have you thought of any names yet?"

"Bentley, for a boy." Cat tells her "Bentley Dylan Valentine. I haven't really gotten around to the girls' names yet."

"So, I take it you think it's a boy then?" The doctor raises an eyebrow at her

"I think it's a boy." Andre cuts in

"We know you do, Andre. Thank you." Cat shakes her head "And I don't know what I think it is. I really want a girl, but my luck hasn't exactly been the best lately, so I feel like it will probably end up being a boy."

"I don't think your luck is all that bad." The doctor shrugs

"You don't?" Cat laughs "Why might that be?"

"Because." Doctor Evans spins the screen back towards Cat "You're having a little girl."

The entire room erupts with cheers and Cat feels like she could cry. Tori and Jade rush to her side and each of them stands on either side of her, each holding one of her hands as they all look at the monitor.

A girl.

Come February, she's going to have a _daughter_.

Beck and Andre stand up and walk over to the table as well. Beck places his hands on Cat's shoulders, and Andre bends down, placing his head between Cat and Tori's to look at the monitor.

"Bring on the glitter and bows." Tori laughs

"I can't believe it..." Cat gasps, on the verge of tears "It's a girl. I'm having a girl!"

"Yeah." Jade smiles "You sure are."


	14. Chapter 14

For the next few days, no matter how hard she tries, Cat cannot manage to wipe the grin off of her face. She's going to be a mommy to a little girl, and for the first time since discovering she was pregnant, she actually feels _excited_. She's sure the excited feeling will disappear in a day or two, when reality sets back in. But for now, she's on top of the world.

She's been thinking of how exciting it will be to go out shopping for anything and everything that is pink. She's been thinking of how adorable the little girl's clothes are every time she passes the baby section in Macy's. She's been thinking of names, right now Lillian is her frontrunner. How cute does Lilly Valentine sound?

The Vitamin B6 supplement pills Doctor Evans has her taking have worked wonders, and she rarely finds herself feeling nauseous anymore. Sure, she still gets headaches, and hot flashes, and she still feels like a bloated whale most of the time. But the days have been so much easier now that she isn't constantly checking to see if there's a bathroom within twenty feet of her, just in case. Everything goes great for a few days, until someone decides to call.

"Mother." Cat sighs, answering her cell phone

"You sound so excited to be talking to me." Her mother says sarcastically "Not even a 'Hi Mom!' like I used to get."

"That was before you started lecturing me on why I should murder my child."

"Oh Caterina, don't say it like that. You make it sound so terrible."

"It _is_ terrible, Mom." Cat hisses "It's _my_ body, and it's _my_ baby. I decide what happens to it, not you."

"As your mother, I'm just looking out for you. It's my job. If you're so insistent on keeping this child, then you should have realized that."

"I don't exactly see murdering my daughter as a form of 'looking out for her'." Cat rolls her eyes "I dunno. Maybe I'm just crazy or something."

"Oh...so it's a little girl, is it?"

"It is." Cat smiles

She can't help but smile every time she tells someone. Even her mom.

The tone in her mother's voice softened when she mentioned it, and Cat can't help but hope that maybe putting a cement human characteristic to the baby is enough to maybe make her mom see her side of all of this.

"Then I supposed you're past the point where it can be aborted now..."

She was wrong.

"Mom." Cat sighs "Please tell me you're at home. If anyone out in public heard you talking like this, you'd have a pro-life rally on your hands in seconds."

"I'm in the living room, Caterina. Where are you?"

"I'm at work, Mom." Cat says coldly "On my lunch break, which I'm finished with in less than five minutes, trying to make a living so I can provide for this little girl."

"It would be easier for you if you had the baby's father around, you do realize that right?"

"No Mom, I hadn't realized." Cat says sarcastically "Of course I know that! But the baby's father doesn't want to be involved. So, there's really not much I can do!"

"And to think, I thought Robbie was such a nice boy..."

"He _is_ a nice boy." She tells her "I just didn't get to know him well enough and we didn't have the right conversations, apparently. So like it or not, I'm going to be a single mother, that's my decision, and you can't make me change my mind."

"Well I-"

"I've got to go Mom, my break is up." Cat cuts her mother off and hangs up the phone

There's only three other people in the break room with her: a man with his headphones in, and two woman making small talk at the table furthest from Cat's. It's not likely that any of them overheard. Cat gathers up the garbage from her lunch and tosses it into the nearest trash can, then she stuffs her lunchbox back inside her bag, and heads back onto the sales floor just in time to start the second part of her shift.

"Where do you need me?" She asks, passing her manager

"Men's department." The woman responds "There's an empty register there."

"Alright."

She finds the open register and punches in her employee code to open it up and allow her to ring up merchandise. There's no one in sight, so she organizes the paper merchandise bags underneath the counter, until she hears someone clear their throat.

"Oh." She's slightly startled "Hi. Sorry about that."

"No problem."

It's a man in his late twenties, maybe early thirties, standing with his arms full. Literally. One arm holds a few dress shirts and ties, the other supports a little girl who can't be older than two or three. He hands the clothes to Cat, and then sets the girl down on the counter so he can fish his wallet out of his pocket.

"Hi." The girl waves

"Hi." Cat smiles as she scans the items

"I'm Alacia!" The little girl tells her "What's your name?"

"Um..." Cat chuckles hesitantly, unsure if she should reveal the information to the toddler "I'm Cat."

"Like the animal?"

"Exactly like that."

"We have a cat!" Alacia's eyes light up "Don't we Daddy?"

"We do." The man laughs "Crackers."

"Cute name." Cat smirks "Perfect for a cat."

She finishes ringing up the items.

"It's going to be $183.48 for you today."

"I have this." The man hands her one of their promotional coupons from the most recent ads

"Okay." She takes the coupon and punches the code into the computer "Twenty-five percent off your purchase is going to bring you to...$137.61. You can go ahead and swipe whenever you're ready."

As the man pays, Cat bags up his shirts and ties, feeling Alacia's little eyes on her the entire time.

"Are you having a baby?" She finally asks

"Alacia!" Her father sounds astonished "I'm so sorry..."

"Don't be. Kids are inquisitive." Cat assures him "And why yes, Miss Alacia. I am."

"My mommy is too!" The little girl's eyes light up "Is it a boy baby or a girl baby?"

"A girl baby." Cat grins

"Oh...Mommy is having a boy baby."

"Well, I bet you're going to be a great big sister." Cat smiles, handing the bag to the man "And I have something for you."

"Really?" Alacia gasps

Cat opens the drawer below the cash register and pulls out a roll of stickers, tearing a few off and handing them to the little girl.

"What do you say?" The man asks his daughter

"Thank you!" Alacia exclaims

"You're very welcome." Cat says as Alacia is picked back up again

"Thank you." The man thanks Cat

"No problem."

"Bye!" Alacia waves as the two of them walk away

"Bye bye!" Cat waves back

She watches until the they're around the corner and out of sight, and then she's alone again.

"Alacia." She whispers

It's an uncommon name, but an incredibly beautiful one. She's not sure why, but as she repeats the name over and over again, she feels butterflies in her stomach. But even when she's pulled back to reality to help another customer, she's still feeling the butterflies. But then she realizes they're not butterflies at all...

It's her baby moving.

When the second customer is out of earshot, she presses a hand to her abdomen to double check, and sure enough she's right.

"Holy shit..." She smiles to herself "You're really in there, baby girl. You're moving."


	15. Chapter 15

Raising a child is going to be expensive.

Cat knew this already of course, but god damn. She's only been scanning through the Babies R Us website for maybe twenty minutes or so and she already feels defeated and disheartened. The cheapest crib is two hundred dollars! That's not even the one she has her eye on either, that one is more expensive.

There's not a whole lot of space in the little studio apartment as it is, and that's just with Cat living there by herself. She doesn't have room for a crib, and a changing table, and a dresser. So she's decided that when the time comes, she'll move her dresser underneath the window, and move the small kitchen table a few feet closer to the actual kitchen, freeing up about six feet of space along the wall opposite of her bed; just barely enough space to fit the crib she's thinking of buying. It has a small changing table built on to the end of it, and beneath the changing table there are three dresser drawers. That should be enough space for the time being, her clothes will be rather small for the first year or so anyways, and if push comes to shove she can always share dresser space with Cat. When the baby is big enough, the crib can convert into a toddler bed, and then eventually a full size bed.

The baby in Cat's abdomen twists herself into a new position, causing her mother to sit up a little straighter.

"What are you doing up?" Cat chuckles, rubbing her bump gently with her free hand that isn't being used on her laptop's touchpad "It's way past your bedtime, little one."

There's no more movement for the next few minutes, and Cat hopes that it will stay that way so she actually has a fighting chance of falling asleep without any issues.

"You're going to be a night owl like your mommy, aren't you?" She sighs, closing her laptop and standing up from the table "Staying up until one and then sleeping until noon? I'm kidding of course, I don't have the ability to sleep until noon. But if I could, I would."

She switches off the lights, walks over to her bed and climbs in, pulling one of her sheets up to her chest.

"Goodnight, baby. See you in the morning." She whispers "I love you."

* * *

"Cat!" The Rosie's greeter almost practically yells across the small diner "You've got a new one in your section! Table three!"

"I'm on it." Cat nods

She brings a diet coke and an iced tea to the two women at table five and then heads to table three to greet her new customer.

"Hi, welcome to Rosie's." She smiles, pulling her notepad out of her apron "My name is Cat, can I get- Sikowitz?"

The man looks up from his menu, and sure enough, it's her old high school drama teacher.

"Cat." He grins "Hello."

"Hi." She laughs, sitting down in the chair across from him "How are you?"

"I'm fantastic." He shrugs "How are you? It's been such a long time."

He was invited to Tori and Andre's wedding this summer, but hadn't been able to attend because he had already planned to be out of the country.

"I know..." Cat sighs "I...I've been in New York for the past few years."

"Ah." He nods "And now you're back."

"I am." She nods

"How's Mr. Shapiro?" He smirks

"Uh..." Cat hesitates

"Don't worry, Cat." He chuckles, leaning forward and patting her hand "I've been filled in on the situation. You're forgetting your friend Tori is a colleague of mine now."

"Right." She laughs "I seem to be forgetting everything these days..."

"February, huh?"

"February." She nods "A little girl."

"Congratulations." He tells her "That little girl is going to have herself one fantastic momma."

"Thanks." Cat blushes, standing up "I've got to pretend to be working so my boss doesn't get mad at me. Can I get you something to drink?"

"A coffee, please." Sikowitz picks his menu back up "Decaf. It's after 6:30."

"Coming right up." Cat promises and turns to head to the counter where they keep the coffee pots

"Do you know that guy?" Drew asks as he wipes down the counter's surface

"Yeah." Cat smiles "He was my high school drama teacher, he works with one of my best friend's now. Well, sort of. She's in a different department, but they're at the same school."

"Wow, small world."

"I know, right?"

"If you want to talk to him, I can cover your other tables." Drew offers

"Silly busboy." Cat shakes her head "You know that's not allowed. I have a baby on the way, may I remind you. I can't really afford to get fired."

"I'm the boss's kid!"

"That makes it even worse." She ruffles his hair, grabs the coffee pot and returns to Sikowitz's table

"Friend of yours?" Sikowitz asks as Cat pours the coffee into his cup

"Kind of." Cat shrugs "Everyone here is super nice, but we're all just acquaintances for the most part."

"So he's not a boyfriend?"

"No." Cat says wide-eyed, shaking her head

"You know I'm just teasing you."

"You're never going to be done teasing me, are you?" Cat laughs

"Am I dead yet?" Sikowitz chuckles

"No."

"Then no, I'm not done yet." He smirks, taking a sip of his coffee

"I'll be back in a little bit to take your order." Cat laughs, rolling her eyes

Sikowitz has always been her favorite teacher, ever since her freshman year. He was like that weird, goofy father-figure that wasn't actually a father-figure yet he somehow managed to be to her and her little friend group.

It's nice to know that some relationships will stay intact, even if you go close to four years with little contact.


	16. Chapter 16

When Cat pulls her car into the alleyway behind the bakery, she's surprised to see another familiar vehicle parked next to the dumpster. As soon as she parks and cuts the car's ignition, she grabs all her bags and climbs out to investigate, locking her doors with the remote as she walks away. She knocks on the other car's window.

"Hey." Jade smiles, rolling the window down

Beck is sitting in the passenger's seat.

"Um, hi..." Cat laughs "What are you guys doing here? It's almost 10:00."

"We come bearing gifts." Jade chuckles "Do you mind if we come in for a little bit? I promise we won't be long."

"Sure." Cat shrugs "Why not."

Both Beck and Jade climb out of Jade's car, Jade grabs a few bags from the back seat, and then they follow Cat inside the bakery after she unlocks the back door.

"George?" Cat calls once their inside "Rebecca?"

She waits for a response for a few seconds, but it never comes.

"Sometimes they're still here when I get home from work, I always like to check." Cat explains to her friends "Come on, let's go upstairs."

The three make their way up the back staircase that leads to Cat's little apartment. Once they're inside, Cat heads straight to her bed and collapses on her back.

"Just until February." She sighs

"You're going to make it." Jade assures her "Don't worry."

"Thanks." Cat smirks "So, may I ask why you two were camping out outside my apartment at close to ten on a Wednesday night?"

"We came from dinner at her mom's." Beck nods towards his girlfriend

"Yeah." Jade nods "She asked about you, and I filled her in on everything that has been going on."

"Did she disown me too?"

"No." Jade laughs "I mean, she was really surprised, but she's not like disappointed in you or anything like that."

"Glad to see one of my moms still likes me." Cat sighs

Having been friends with Jade since she was seven years old, by the time she got to junior high, Cat felt more than comfortable calling Jade's mom 'Mom' too.

"She says she's really missed you since we went away to school." Jade continues "She wants me to bring you by some time."

"I think I'll be able to handle that." Cat smirks

"She also sent me with a shit ton of food for you." Jade gestures to the bags she had brought up with her "There's some cookies, homemade granola bars, those cinnamon twist things that you like..."

"And your mom had all of this just ready and waiting to go?"

"None of her kids live at home anymore, my step-dad is at work all day, and she doesn't have a job." Jade shrugs "The woman gets bored from time to time and just bakes all day."

"I wish I could live that life."

"Don't we all?"

"Tell her I say thank you." Cat tells her friends, standing up to go and look inside the bag "Oh my gosh so much sugar."

"Don't eat anything now or you'll be up all night."

"I'm already up all night." Cat rolls her eyes "Oh my gosh, guess who I saw the other day?"

"Who?"

"Sikowitz!" Cat tells them "He came into Rosie's and he ended up in my section."

"Holy shit." Beck laughs "How is he? I've been meaning to go back and visit but...life and adulthood and all that."

"He seemed great." Cat shrugs "I dunno. He kept asking me about school and the baby and what I was doing now..."

"Once a teacher always a teacher."

"You can say that again." Cat chuckles "Even though I hadn't seen him in four years he was acting just like I had never stopped being in his classroom every day."

"That's the kind of guy that he is." Jade reminds her

"I know, it's just...it's nice to know that you're always going to have some people around, no matter what." Cat sighs "Oh! Speaking of that! While I have you two here together, there's something I want to ask you..."

Beck and Jade exchange a look of confusion, not really sure what exactly it is that their friend wants to ask them.

"Okay...go ahead." Beck nods "We're listening."

"Jade." Cat grabs her friend's hands and takes them in hers "We've been best friends for a majority of our lives and I know that whenever I need you, you're always going to be there for me, no matter what. And the past few months I've needed you so much, and you've helped me. No questions asked."

"Well that's what friends are for, aren't they?" Jade laughs

"And Beck." Cat turns to him, still holding on tightly to Jade's hands "I haven't known you for quite as long, but nine years is a pretty substantial amount of time. You've always been a great friend to me too, kinda like a super fun, but still protective big brother. Not to mention, you make my best friend _really_ happy and you take great care of her."

"Are you going somewhere with this?" Jade asks her "Or is this just going to turn into a mushy love-fest?"

"It's going somewhere, I promise." Cat takes a deep breath "My baby is going to be here in a little under four months, and she's going to need godparents. It would mean the absolute _world_ to me if her godparents were you guys."

"Are you serious?" Jade grins, hugging her friend "Absolutely!"

"Yeah." Beck agrees, joining in on their hug "We would be honored."

"Thank you, guys." Cat smiles, fighting with everything she has to hold back the tears forming in her eyes

Everything seems to be making her emotional these days.

"We're going to have a godchild to spoil rotten." Jade laughs, looking at her boyfriend

"We would have spoiled her rotten anyway." Beck reminds her

"She's going to be one well-loved little girl." Cat nods, resting a hand on her bump "I already love her more than anything else in the world."


	17. Chapter 17

"You're stressing me out, Mom." Cat sighs "Stress is terrible for the baby."

"You're only 22 years old, Caterina..."

"I'm aware mother, thank you." Cat rests her head back against the headrest of the driver's seat in her car "I'm going to raise this baby, there's nothing you can do about it."

"That baby deserves to have a father, you and the father should get married before it's born if you really want to keep it that badly."

"I told you, Mom. Robbie doesn't want the baby-"

"At least Robbie has a solid head on his shoulders..."

"Are you even listening to me?" Cat exclaims "Mom. I can't give this baby up, it's my own flesh and blood, I'm carrying it inside me. You know what the bond between a mother and baby is like. We've bonded-"

"I told you that you should've aborted it."

"How dare you?" Cat gasps, fighting tears "I'm finally grown up and acting like a responsible adult and my own mother isn't even supporting me!"

"Well, if you're not going to get married and raise a child the _correct_ way then I guess I have no choice other than to say tha-"

"I've got to go Mom." Cat says quickly hanging up the phone "Fuck you."

She rests her head against her steering wheel as the tears start sliding down her cheeks. Pregnancy hormones combined with basically getting disowned over the phone aren't the best mix. Her mother has no right to be talking to her like this. It's _her_ daughter, she is the one deciding what's best for her, not her mom.

"You're doing the right thing..." She whispers to herself

She seems to be having to remind herself of that more and more often now.

Drying her tears, she sits upright again, collecting herself.

"We don't need them, baby girl..." She rests a hand on her baby bump, talking to her daughter "We'll be just fine without them."

She unlocks her phone and opens the call app again, calling the first name on her 'favorite contacts' list.

"Hello?" Jade answers after two rings

"Hey." Cat greets her, looking into the rearview mirror at the boxes in her backseat "I need to borrow your boyfriend."

"Why?" Jade laughs

"I'm in the parking lot of Babies R Us right now." She tells her friend "I just bought a shitload of stuff. One of the workers carried it out and put it in the car for me, but there's no way I'm going to be able get it up the stairs to my apartment...and you know I suck at putting stuff together."

"Say no more, we'll meet you at the bakery in ten."

* * *

"A changing table, dresser and crib all rolled into one..." Beck sighs, pulling his pocket knife out of his jeans and slicing into the box "Goody..."

"Thank you, Beck." Cat grins, resting a hand on her baby bump as she sits watching him on her bed across the small studio apartment "The baby and I appreciate it."

"Yeah yeah." Beck smirks "I'm her godfather, right?"

"Yeah that's right." Cat laughs "You and Jade will be great godparents, I'm sure of it."

"Damn straight we will be, right kid?" Jade says to Cat's bump, handing her a glass of water and sitting down on the bed next to her "How much longer? I'm growing impatient, I wanna meet this kid."

"Three months, still." Cat sighs "I'm just as impatient as you are, believe me. Being pregnant is so much work."

"I can only imagine. Hey, how are things with your parents?" Jade asks, looking genuinely concerned "Have they come around yet?"

"No." Cat shakes her head "I'm almost one hundred percent positive they disowned me..."

"Cat..."

"If they can't accept this, I don't want her to be around them anyways." Cat admits

"Well still, it can't be enjoyable to go through." Jade touches her shoulder "What are you doing for Thanksgiving?"

"Nothing anymore, I guess." Cat shrugs

"Come to my mom's with us." Jade nods towards Beck "She's been asking about you and the baby a lot lately, and you shouldn't have to spend the holiday alone."

"I don't want to impose..."

"Cat you've been my best friend since we were seven." Jade laughs "You're basically family. Please?"

"Okay." Cat smiles "But only because you said please."

The two women hug, the movement causes the baby inside of Cat to kick.

"Did she just kick?" Jade asks, pressing her hand to Cat's bump

"Yeah." Cat grins "She did."

"That's so cool." Jade tells her "She's really in there."

"Believe me," Cat sighs "I know."

"So Cat..." Beck says as he eyes the assembly instructions "Have a name picked out yet?"

"I'm between a few right now..." She tells them "Right now the top runners are Lillian, Ellie, Layla, and Alacia."

"Alacia?"Jade raises an eyebrow at her friend

"Yeah. Uh-lace-ee-uh." Cat sounds the name out "I'd call her Lacey. What do you think?"

"It's unique for sure." Jade shrugs "Where did you come up with that one?"

"I was working the register at Macy's a few weeks back...this man came up, he had the most adorable little girl with him..." Cat chuckles "And I mean really adorable, blonde hair, curly pigtails, big brown eyes, she couldn't have been older than two or three. While I was ringing them, up he sat her on the counter so he could get his wallet out, and she just looked at me and said 'Hi! I'm Alacia!', and I sort of fell in love with the name."

"Alacia." Jade repeats "It's cute. Have you thought about a middle name?"

"Oh I haven't gotten that far yet." Cat laughs

"May I suggest Jade?" Her friend smirks

"Or maybe Becca?" Beck adds

"Let's get a first name figured out first, then go from there."

"Are you excited?"

"Yeah." Cat sighs "And terrified."

"Oh don't be."

"Labor is supposed to be the worst thing in the world! And then after that, I'm going to be responsible for another human life...I don't want to screw her up."

"You're going to be a great mom, Cat."

"I sure hope so..."

She thought she was going to have more than enough time to prepare for this baby, but with each day that passes, she has less and less time.


	18. Chapter 18

Cat checks her makeup in the mirror attached to the sunshade on the driver's side of her car one last time before closing it and returning it to the upright position. She grabs her purse and opens the car door, stepping out onto the pavement, and heading up towards the familiar house that came to be like her second home growing up.

Jade and Cat first met in elementary school when Jade's family moved into the district's borders, her parents had still been married then. When they got divorced, Jade's mom got to keep the house, and eventually her stepdad, Rick Caldwell, moved in. But ever since she was seven years old, Cat has known this house as 'Jade's House', and she doesn't think she'll ever be able to think of it any other way. Her own childhood home is only a few blocks away in the next subdivision over, but somehow she feels that environment won't be nearly as welcoming as this one.

As she steps up onto the porch and rings the doorbell, she looks slightly to her right to glance quickly at the porch swing sitting just a few feet away from her. She remembers spending Fridays after school sitting there finishing math homework before the weekend with Jade when they were little, or summer nights gossiping about boys while they waited for one of Cat's parents to come pick her up. It was such a simpler time in life, one she wishes she could return to.

The door opens and she's face to face with Beck. He had come along when they were fourteen, he was one of the boys they gossiped about on the swing.

"Hey." He smiles "We were starting to worry about you."

"There's still traffic on Thanksgiving." She shrugs

"There's always traffic _somewhere_ in Los Angeles." He chuckles, stepping aside to make room in the entryway "Come on in."

She steps inside the foyer and is incredibly happy to see that almost nothing about it has changed since the last time she had visited over Christmas break a few years ago. The pictures of Jade and her siblings haven't been updated since the last time she was here; they're still in the same frames. The house still smells like a mix of apple pie candles and vanilla air freshener, not to mention the scent of Thanksgiving dinner layered on top of that. It's the slightest bit of comfort in her chaotic world right now.

Cat takes off her flats right at the door, she knows Jade's mom would shoot her dead if she tracked mud into the house, even if she is an adult now, about to become a mom herself.

"Who's here?" Jade asks, poking her head into the foyer from the hallway "Oh hey!"

"Hey." Cat laughs

"Mom!" Jade calls, grabbing Cat's hand and leading her down the hallway into the kitchen "Someone is here!"

Cat shrugs her purse off her shoulder and tosses it back to Beck, who catches it and leaves it by the door, then follows his girlfriend and her best friend into the kitchen.

"I figured that when I heard the doorbell ring..." Mrs. Caldwell says, setting out vegetable trays on the counter, among other appetizers "Who is i- Oh my goodness! Caterina Valentine! It has been too, too long. Come give me a hug right this second!"

"Hi 'Mom'." Cat smirks, rolling her eyes and opening her arms to embrace her best friend's mother

The same woman who had hugged her tightly when she fell and scraped up her knee so badly in third grade that she had to call her parents to come take her to the doctor. The same woman who had embraced her tightly when she saw her crying in Jade's room after her first real breakup. The same woman who had cried just as hard as her own mother when they graduated from high school.

"You look so gorgeous and so grown up." Mrs. Caldwell whispers to her "I honestly didn't think you were ever going to come back from New York."

"Neither did I..." Cat admits "There was a slight change in plans, I guess."

"Speaking of which..." She looks down and places both her hands on Cat's baby bump "Who is this?"

"That's my goddaughter, Mom." Jade grins

"I know that Jade, you've only told me a million times." Her mother laughs "I wanted to give your friend a chance to share the news."

"This is my daughter." Cat chuckles, resting her own hand on top of her bump "Her name is yet to be determined, but she'll be here sometime in mid-February."

"I'm really sorry things didn't work out with her dad..." Mrs. Caldwell rests a hand on Cat's shoulder

"It's okay." Cat nods "If he doesn't want her, then we don't need him."

* * *

"So Beck," Jade's step-dad, Rick, says at dinner later that night "How's the work on the new show coming?"

"Really great." Beck smiles "We're just getting under way with the first season, and we're hoping to premiere the beginning of June."

"You got the role on the TV show?" Cat asks

"Yeah." Beck tells her "You're looking at Ryan Taylor. One of three lead male characters on Fox's next big summer drama."

"That's great." Cat grins "Congratulations."

"Thank you."

She feels like a total asshole; she was too busy working all the time to even inquire about her friends audition she totally knew was happening a few weeks ago.

"Jade are you still at KTLA 5?" A relative asks from the opposite end of the table

"Mhm." Jade nods, swallowing the sip of water she had just taken "I'm actually liking it more than I expected it to, but I'm still hoping for something better within the next few years or so."

"What about you, Cat?" Rick asks her "Where are you working? Are you working?"

"I'm in retail sales at Macy's." Cat responds

Which is what she's doing a majority of the time, she doesn't need to bore them with her Jet Vroom or Rosie's details.

"Are you working this weekend?"

"Uh uh." She sighs "They've got me working from ten tonight to six tomorrow morning."

"Are you serious?" Jade suddenly looks very concerned

"Yes?"

"Is that...allowed?" She asks "Are you allowed to work all night like that?"

"Well if they scheduled me I would assume so..."

"I meant for the baby?"

"She's not the one working." Cat shrugs "I'll go home at six and sleep for a few hours and then head to Rosie's. It's not a big deal."

She was able to pick up a shift at Rosie's Friday afternoon from noon to five.

"That's so ridiculous." Jade sighs "What ever happened to Black _Friday?_ "

"It's become too over commercialized..." Mrs. Caldwell shakes her head "It really is a shame. It used to be fun, but now it's not even worth going out on Thanksgiving."

"Are you sure you'll be okay tonight?" Jade leans over to Cat and whispers "I don't know if-"

"I'll be fine." Cat nods

"And of you're not?"

"I'll call one of you."

"Promise?"

"Cross my heart."


	19. Chapter 19

Cat has always loved the Christmas season and everything about it; the music, the decorations, the TV specials, even the annoying department store commercials that had been airing since October. It was her favorite, and once Thanksgiving was over, she was in full Christmas mode.

But this year, she feels like everything seems to be a little less exciting.

Last year at this time, she was in New York with Robbie. When they weren't in class, or studying for upcoming final exams, they could walk around Central Park and admire how beautiful it looked covered in snow, or they could take a cab to Rockefeller Center and go ice skating. They decorated their apartment together, and picked out a Christmas tree for their tiny living room. Sure, they spent the actual holiday back in Los Angeles with their families, but the season leading up to it was so much fun and so romantic.

This year, she won't be spending it with Robbie, or even with her family. She can barely hold a two minute conversation with her mother now without one of them blowing up at the other and hanging up the phone. It's almost tragic. The thought of having to spend one of her favorite holidays alone is the most upsetting thing in the world. But what if she had stayed in New York? What if she had actually told Robbie and he had convinced her to get an abortion? Then Christmas most certainly would not be enjoyable for her at all; the guilt of never getting to spend it with the baby that neither of them ever gave a chance would eat her alive.

Once again, she has to remind herself that leaving Robbie and coming back to Los Angeles was what was best for both of them, and for the baby. The baby that will be here in just under two months. The baby that Cat already loves more than anything else on the planet. Her baby girl, her daughter, the person who by the time next Christmas rolls around will be able to call her 'Mama', even if she doesn't entirely understand what she's saying yet.

The baby is the only thing that gives her the will and the strength to get out of bed most days. Every time that alarm clock goes off at 4:30, and she wants nothing more than to skip work and quit her job, she remembers the little girl growing and taking up residence in her abdomen. She remembers that everything she's doing, no matter how much it sucks right now, is to make life better for the two of them in the years to come. She's determined to give her daughter the best life that she can, no matter how hard she has to work.

"So listen kid..." Cat whispers to the baby one night as she's getting ready for bed "I know I complain about being pregnant, like, a lot. And I know that you're due on February 12th, but I honestly think it would be pretty cool if you were a few days late. Two days, to be exact. Then we would have the same birthday! And how awesome would that be? We couldn't plan that better if we tried!"

Obviously, the baby doesn't respond, not that she could.

"I know, you come when you want to come." Cat sighs, walking over and climbing into bed "I need to start thinking harder about a name for you, Little One. I can't call you 'Baby Girl Valentine' for the rest of your life. Well, I could...but that would just be plain mean."

Back in high school, Cat had picked out the names of her future children while she was daydreaming, just like most teenage girls do. When she was a senior, the top picks had been Bentley Robert for a boy, named after the man she assumed would be his daddy, and Lillian Diane for a girl, named after her mother. But she broke up with Robbie, so the middle name Robert got replaced with her next favorite boy's name, Dylan. And then her mom didn't turn out to be the person she thought she was, and the baby turned out to be a girl, and she doesn't really know what to do now.

"Lillian Valentine." Cat says "Lilly Valentine...what do you think?"

Again, the baby has no way to respond. She's not even moving right now. In one of her pregnancy books, Cat read that fetuses at this stage sleep just like normal newborns do, so whenever the baby is inactive for long periods of time, she just assumes that she is asleep. Thankfully, they tend to sleep at the same time, but that makes her even more active during the day.

"I'm not so wild about Ellie..." She sighs "Maybe Layla. Or Alacia. What do you think of Alacia kiddo? I wouldn't call you by that unless it was necessary, you would be Lacey most of the time...I think it's cute."

A name she never would have discovered if that man hadn't brought his daughter to the store with him that day.

"I wish you could see the apartment right now, baby girl..." Cat smiles, glancing around the small moonlit apartment as she pulls the blankets up to her chest "I hung some Christmas lights up in the kitchen and on the walls. And Uncle Andre even helped me get a little Christmas tree up here. It's a real one, so the whole room smells really good. I can't wait until we can spend Christmas together next year."

Next year at Christmas, the baby will already be ten months old; old enough to sit up on her own, and crawl around, and babble to whoever will listen. Cat already can't stand the thought of her getting older and she's not even born yet, it's crazy.

It's amazing just how much can change in the matter of a year.


	20. Chapter 20

"Oh just a second, I think she might have just gotten back." Cat hears a voice from inside the bakery say as she walks in the back door

Rebecca Thompson pokes her head around the corner at the end of the short hallway that leads from the back bakery area to the main storefront, smiling when she sees that the young redhead was in fact the one who had come in.

"Cat! Glad you're back, sweetheart." She grins "Would you mind coming up here for a second?"

"Um, sure." Cat nods, shifting her brown bag of groceries from one arm to the other so she can stick her keys inside her purse

Upon entering the storefront, she sees not only Rebecca and her husband, George, standing out in front of the glass display case, but also a man maybe only a few years older than her. He looks vaguely familiar, but thanks to her baby brain, she can't seem to place his face.

"Nice to see that some things never change." The man smirks "You're still rockin' that bright red hair."

"Austin Thompson." She laughs, pointing to the man "I thought you were living out in Phoenix now?"

"I am." He nods "But I'm here visiting Mom and Dad for the holidays."

She remembers him now, Austin Thompson, George and Rebecca's son. He was three years older than her, and grew up in the house next door to her childhood one, that's how she knew his parents, and how she was able to find her apartment. They had played together when they were kids, up until the point when entered junior high and decided he was _much_ too old to be fraternizing with a _third grader_. By the time he got over it, he was a senior at the public high school and she was a freshman at Hollywood Arts. Their relationship was always friendly, but since he had gone off to college and his parents had moved out of the house next to Cat's parents, she hadn't had much contact with him or seen him much.

"I thought you were living in New York now?" He smirks, cocking his head to the side in a friendly way

"Alright, touché." Cat chuckles "Come upstairs with me, I'll explain everything."

"I'll be back in a bit." Austin tells his parents, following Cat into the back hallway

"Of course." Rebecca calls after him "Have fun catching up!"

"Need me to carry something for you?" Austin offers as he and Cat climb the staircase that leads to the landing outside her apartment

"I've got it." Cat assures him

"You know, I think you're the first person to live in this apartment in my lifetime."

"Yeah." She chuckles "I could tell that when I first moved in. Lots of dust."

"When I was little, I used to think no one lived up here because it was haunted."

"Very funny." Cat rolls her eyes at him as she fishes her keys back out of her purse and unlocks the door "I can assure you, this place _is not_ haunted. The ghosts would have scared me away by now."

The two of them enter the apartment, and Austin sees the interior for the first time since he was in his early teens.

"Wow." He glances around the room, sticking his hands in his pockets as he walks in further "I like what you've done with the place."

"Does it look less haunted?" Cat teases him, setting the bag of groceries down on the counter in the small kitchenette in the corner opposite of the one where the baby's crib is set up

"Doesn't even look haunted at all." He tells her "Just a normal, every day apartment."

"I'll take that as a compliment, thank you."

"You're welcome." She nods "So, what are you up to these days?"

"I work in a bank." He tells her, sitting down at the small kitchen table "I'm a finance manager."

"Wow, Mr. Money Bags." She laughs "I'm impressed."

"Thanks." He tells her "What about you?"

"Well, I have a business degree from New York University..." She sighs "But I guess I'm what American's today consider to be 'underemployed'."

"I would figure it would be easy to find a job in that line of work." He looks confused "Especially in Los Angeles."

"I needed to take whatever work I could find and would pay me well." She explains, gesturing to her baby bump "I'm going to have someone else to look out for soon."

"I see..." Austin nods, tapping his fingers against the tabletop "Is...is there a dad?"

"Obviously there is, Austin." Cat can't help but laugh "You do know it takes two to make a baby, don't you?"

"Not what I meant." He smirks "I meant, my parents said you were living up here by yourself, so...is he around."

"No." Cat shakes her head "He was just some guy I met while I was out in New York. He told me he didn't want to have a baby and I said that was fine with me, but that I wanted to keep it. We agreed that he wouldn't have any contact and that he wouldn't be involved at all, no strings attached. And I came back here, and he's still there."

A small lie, but to the point.

"Wow."

"Yeah." Cat sighs "And my parents were even less supportive than he was, which is how I ended up living in the apartment above your parents bakery."

"When are you due?"

"February 12th."

"So soon?"

She nods.

"I'm so sorry, Cat."

"Don't be. I made the choice to have it this way." She tells him "But enough negativity, tell me something that will make me smile."

"Um..." Austin thinks for a moment "Oh, I'm engaged!"

"I remember your mom mentioning that to me briefly a while ago." Cat smiles "Congratulations."

"Thank you." Austin can't help but grin "Her name is Mary. She's a kindergarten teacher, she's the greatest girl I've ever met."

"Well I would hope so, if you're marrying her." Cat chuckles "When's the wedding?"

"Sometime in August." He tells her "We're still trying to pick an exact date."

"Ah, wedding planning." Cat sighs "One of my best friends got married this past summer, I was only heavily involved in planning for about a month, but it was enough to drive me crazy."

"That's why I'm letting her take care of most of it." He laughs

"Austin!"

"Hey, happy wife, happy life. Right?"

"Alright." She chuckles "I guess you've got me there."


	21. Chapter 21

"Hi! Welcome to Rosie's, and Merry Christmas! I'm Cat, can I get you started with anything to drink?"

She's said the same thing to every customer who has been seated in her section today, which thankfully hasn't been that many, but after saying it just twice it made her heart break just a little bit.

Jet Vroom is closed today, Macy's is closed today, but Bridget had said anyone who was willing to work the limited hours that Rosie's was going to be open today would be treated to a nice holiday bonus, and god knows Cat could use all the extra money she could get right now. So here she is.

Everyone working today either doesn't celebrate Christmas, or is someone like Cat, who doesn't have anyone to spend the holiday with. Her mother never called to give her the holiday details like she normally does, and her parents house isn't exactly somewhere Cat would like to show up uninvited at the moment, Beck and Jade were splitting their time between their two families, and Andre and Tori were spending today with the Vega's. She had been offered to be allowed to tag along with either couple, but it just didn't feel right to her. Not on Christmas. She didn't want the pity. Not that being here in her bright yellow waitress outfit that clashes horribly with the bright red Santa hat she's being forced to wear is really any better.

It doesn't help that the people here working with her aren't the normal people she's used to sharing her shift with. There's a different cook, a different greeter, and an entirely different team of waiters and waitresses. She can't joke around with her co-workers like she normally does, there's no friendly small talk while they wait for their orders to come up. It's uncomfortable, so it's hard to feel Christmasy at all. She wonders how Robbie is spending his Christmas, she doubts he came home to see his parents, otherwise one of her friends would have told her, but is he spending it with people in New York? Whatever he's doing, she hopes he isn't lonely like she is, because it's one of the worst feelings in the world and she wouldn't wish it on anybody, not even him.

Cat is sitting at the counter, sorting out the individual plastic single-serve coffee creamers when she sees the greeter guide a family of about five or six people to a table in her section. Sighing, she stands up to make her way over to them, resting a hand on the small of her back for support as she does so. The baby has been exceptionally active today, Cat likes to think it's the Christmas spirit. She hopes that even though Christmas this year kind of sucks, that next year the two of them will have one of the best Christmas's ever, even if it is _just_ the two of them.

"Hi! Welcome to Rosie's, and Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas!" One of the women at the table responds before Cat even has the chance to get the second chance of her spiel out

The table consists of a younger couple, an older couple, and a baby sitting in a high chair who probably can't be any older than a year

"Thank you." Cat smiles "Uh, I'm Cat, can I get you started with anything to drink?"

"Waters all around would be great." The younger man tells her "Oh! And if you could maybe bring a glass of milk for the little guy here? We'll just pour it into a sippy cup for him."

"Sure." She nods "I'll be right back with those while you look at your menus."

She's able to fill their drink orders quickly behind the counter on account of they're all mainly the same, and that there aren't many others filling drink orders at the moment because the diner is close to empty.

"Here we go..." Cat smiles, setting the tray down on the empty table next to them and distributing the glasses "Four ice waters and a glass of milk for the little guy. Have you guys had a chance to look at the menu and decide what you want yet?"

"Do you have something along the lines of a Christmas dinner?" The older woman asks, narrowing her eyes at the two men sitting across from her "There was a little mishap with our turkey earlier..."

"You wouldn't be the first ones today." Cat laughs "Yes, on the first page we have the turkey dinner special. It comes with-Oh! Hello there!"

She looks down to see the little baby sitting in the high chair next to has reached into the pocket of her apron and is trying to grab one of her pens.

"Brody!" The baby's mother, the younger of the two women, sighs, grabbing his hands away "I'm so sorry. He's in a stage where he likes to grab everything."

"It's not a problem, he's fine." Cat assures her "Is today his first Christmas?"

"Yeah." The woman smiles "He's loving it so far."

"What's not to love about Christmas?" Cat forces herself to smile "I'll be right back, excuse me for a second."

She walks over to the greeter's stand and grabs a kids menu and a box of small crayons, and brings them back to the table. She places them down in front of the baby and can't help but smile to herself as she watches his face light up.

"Here you go, little guy. Something to keep you busy while we get your food ready."

"Oh my goodness, thank you so much." The younger woman grins up at Cat "Most places don't think to give these do us yet because he's still so little."

"Not a problem." Cat looks down at the smiling baby "Merry Christmas, Brody."


	22. Chapter 22

New Year's Eve comes and goes and suddenly it's 2019. The abundant amount of time Cat thought she had to prepare for her daughter's arrival has suddenly become only six short weeks. Her head is spinning.

Despite the fact that she's been working her ass off for the past seven and a half months, despite the fact that there is a crib in the corner of her apartment, and despite the fact that she's pregnant and scared to death, the idea of actually being a mom hasn't sunk in yet. She knows it's going to happen soon, but she doesn't know what she's going to do when it does. She's barely done anything to prepare, all she has is the one layette set from Andre and Tori, a rocking chair, and the crib, but with as often as she is working finding the time to actually go out and purchase what she still needs is close to impossible.

Not to mention that she feels like complete crap most of the time. She's on her feet for close to seventeen hours a day, causing them to swell up and cause her physical pain near the end of the work day. But when she gets home and manages to actually get to bed, she's plagued with terrible pain in her lower back that she can't seem to make go away no matter what position she lays in. And the bigger the baby grows, the less space she has to move around, meaning even the smallest movements that she makes her mother feels in almost their entirety. Cat just wants her baby out of her so the two of them can start on this wild, crazy and frightening ride together. However, before that can happen, she needs to be better prepared. So the second Sunday of 2019, Cat finds herself walking into Babies R Us with her two best friends at her side, ready to find everything she needs, and hopefully stay within her price range.

"What furniture do you still need?" Tori asks

"Nothing." Cat tells her, opening up the notes app on her phone to look at the list she made "Just a car seat, clothes, blankets, diapers and other stuff of the same variety."

"Does the crib have bedding yet?"

"Oh, no it doesn't. I guess we need to pick that out as well."

"I'm going to put money down right now on the fact that her bedding is pink." Jade sighs, grabbing a cart and setting her purse down inside

"Well what else would you expect the daughter of Cat Valentine to have?" Tori laughs

"I really want to get the car seat first." Cat admits, resting a hand on top of her bump "I want to have that one hundred percent ready to go. And if I run out of money today everything else can wait for the next paycheck. But I need to have the car seat, otherwise they won't let me take her home from the hospital."

"Um, are you anticipating her coming sometime soon?" Jade asks

"I honestly don't know." Cat shrugs "She's the one who is in control here, she'll come when she wants to. And I want to be ready for her when she does."

"Well then let's find her a car seat."

Turns out there's a lot to consider when picking out a car seat other that just the color. Obviously you want it to be safe, but do you want a convertible one that grows with them in age? Do you want one that has a matching stroller? There's a million different variables. Cat ends up picking a light gray one that has light pink accents and white polka dots. She has the option to pair it with the matching stroller, but that would end up costing her close to...

"Three hundred and fifty dollars?" Cat sighs, running a hand through her hair "Uhg. You know what? Fuck it. Let's just buy them both, she'll need a stroller eventually and I doubt I'll be able to find one for any cheaper than this."

Jade helps Tori grab the stroller box and lift it into the cart, then grabs the car seat box and places it in on top.

"Well congratulations, Cat." Tori smirks "You've only been here half an hour and the cart is already full."

"Why is baby shit so expensive?" Cat groans "They're tiny!"

"You've got to keep them safe though."

"Yeah, that's true..."

"Have you gotten any further with her name?"

"It will either be Alacia or Lillian." Cat tells them as they walk to a the next department they need to visit "Don't ask me about middle names yet because I'm still working on the first one."

"I like Alacia." Jade tells her

"Really? Because you kind of turned your nose up at it the first time I mentioned it." Cat reminds her

"Because I had never heard of it before." Jade explains "But the more I think about it, that's why it's my favorite. She would be unique."

"And Lacey _is_ a pretty cute nickname." Tori adds

"I thought so." Cat smiles "Lacey Valentine. I like the way it sounds. But I also like Lilly Valentine. I'm torn."

"Well, you have a few weeks still."

"Oh god..." Cat sighs " _Weeks_. We're down to counting in _weeks_ now instead of months."

"You're going to be just fine, Cat..." Jade assures her friend, resting a hand on her shoulder "We're all going to be here to help you in whatever way you need."

"The idea of her actually _being_ here is still so surreal, though." Cat shakes her head "I mean, I've gotten so used to her moving around in there, I don't know what it'll be like when she's not."

She moves her hand down lower on her bump and feels the baby's foot make light contact with her palm, bringing a smile to her face.

"Little goofball knows we're talking about her..." Cat chuckles

"Is she moving?" Tori asks hopefully

"Yeah." Cat takes her friend's hand and places it on her abdomen "Just wait, it'll be right around here."

Sure enough, within two minutes the baby changes positions again and kicks Tori's hand.

"She's really in there." Tori grins

"You say that every time she let's you feel." Jade rolls her eyes

"I know." Tori admits "It's just so _cool_."

"Try being the pregnant one for a few hours." Cat tells her "It'll get real old, real fast."


	23. Chapter 23

The corner of Cat's small studio apartment that had only been occupied by the baby's crib up until recently is now overflowing with everything pink. Her clothes are pink, her blankets and her bedding are pink, even the packages her diapers came in are pink. Her arrival is quickly approaching, and the small group of friends is more anxious than ever.

Cat is nervous about becoming a mom, nervous and scared. But she's also excited to finally get to meet this little girl that has been taking up residency inside of her for almost 3/4 of a year now. Jade and Tori are excited to be aunts, and to have a baby that they can spoil and cuddle all they want, but not have to take home at the end of the day. Andre is excited for the baby as well, but just _knows_ that within a few months his wife will have a baby wish and will be asking to have one of their own. Beck cannot wait to be an uncle, and has taken it upon himself to be as positive of a male role model for his niece as possible, as she's not going to have her father in her life.

All of them feel a little guilty about that, the fact that Robbie has no idea his unborn child is about to enter the world, even Cat. But Robbie hasn't exactly been making much of an effort to talk to any of his friends the past few months either. Obviously, he had taken Cat's hints and removed himself from her life, just like she had asked. But as for Tori, Jade, Beck, and Andre, he seemed to be too busy with his new New York residency show to have the time to talk to any of his old friends from school. Which just helped Cat solidify the fact that she made the right choice in leaving him and coming home; if he didn't even have the time to stop and text his supposed best friend Happy Birthday, then he most certainly would not have the time to help her take care of a child. So as awful as she feels for leaving him without much of an explanation, she knows she'll have to get over it; this is what was best for all of them.

"Check me out, Baby Girl." Cat smiles, pushing the newly assembled car seat away from her to admire it "I did that all by myself, I didn't even need Uncle Andre or Uncle Beck to help me."

She's sitting on the floor of her apartment, surrounded by baby stuff that needs to either be assembled, or put away somewhere. The only problem is, she doesn't have a whole lot more room to be putting things.

"We'll figure out how to get this into the car this weekend." Cat says, pushing herself to her knees

She grabs the side of the futon next to her and uses it for support as she stands up, groaning as she does so. All of the extra weight on the front of her body makes everything she does difficult these days.

She picks up the car seat and places it on top of the futon, then turns out the lights and crawls into bed.

"Guess what, Baby Girl?" Cat whispers as she pulls the blankets on top of her and lays down "Two weeks from tomorrow morning? We'll get to sleep in until 7:30! How awesome is that? An extra three hours!"

She had given Jet Vroom her two weeks notice this morning. There was no way she would be able to keep working there once the baby was born. Mainly because she couldn't be waking her up to take her to day care at 4:30 in the morning, and also because there was no child care center _open_ to take her at 4:30 in the morning. Plus she'll be needing the extra sleep if she wants to adequately take care of the baby.

Thanks to California state disability plans and laws, Macy's is giving her six-weeks of paid maternity leave once the baby is born. Any time she wants to take after that will either have to come out of her sick or vacation days, or be considered unpaid medical leave. She still needs to talk to Bridget about getting time off from Rosie's, and is praying that she's built enough trust there that they won't just fire her instead.

"Goodnight, Baby Girl." Cat says to her daughter "Sleep tight, I'll talk to you in the morning."

* * *

"Cat!" Bridget calls as Cat walks past the slightly open office door on her way into work at the diner, stopping her in her tracks "Do you have a minute?"

"Sure..." Cat pushes the door open further "But I already clocked in..."

"Don't worry about it." Her boss assures her "They can manage without you for a couple minutes. Come, sit down."

Cat enters the office and closes the door behind her, taking a seat in one of the chairs opposite the side of the desk Bridget is sitting on.

"So I've been meaning to talk to you about your maternity leave..." Bridget tells her

"I've been meaning to ask you about it too..." Cat admits "I completely understand if you want to just fire me instead. I know that managing maternity leave can be a bit of a...hassle."

"I'm not going to fire you, Cat." Bridget shakes her head "I'm a mom, I'm sure by now you've met my son, Drew?"

"Yeah, of course." Cat nods "He's a really nice kid."

"He is." Bridget agrees "But being a mom myself, I would never be able to fire you just because you had a baby. People who do are just plain ridiculous. But because you're only a part-time employee, that makes figuring this out a little tricky."

"I understand."

"You're normally here for three hours a night, correct?" Bridget clarifies

Cat nods.

"I'm willing to give you pay for fifteen hours a week, for eight weeks." Bridget tells her "I know that's technically less than what you work now but-"

"It's more than generous." Cat smiles "Are you sure?"

"This is a family owned and operated business, and my parents left me in charge." Bridget explains "I'll run it how I want to run it."

"Okay." Cat grins

"On one condition."

"Oh..."

"When are you due again?" Bridget asks

"February 12th."

Bridget wheels her office chair over to look at the calendar on the wall.

"I do not want you working after the ninth if the baby hasn't been born yet." She tells Cat "Do you understand?"

"Of course."

"Good." Bridget nods "Not because I don't want you around, but because I don't want you going into labor because the work is stressing you out."

"I understand." Cat laughs

"And I want a birth announcement to hang up on the bulletin board by the staff cubbies."

"You've got a deal."


	24. Chapter 24

"This is just sad..." Tori admits, sitting with her chin resting on her hand

"It's not sad." Jade nudges her "It's kind of funny to watch, actually."

"It's like she's gone insane or something!"

"She's not insane." Jade assures her friend "She's just nesting. Or at least that's what the book I read called it."

"You read a pregnancy book?" Tori raises an eyebrow at Jade "Seriously?"

"It was a short one." Jade shrugs "And besides, there were certain things I wanted to know. And some things that I'm happy I know now. For example, the reason our friend is rushing around her apartment like a maniac cleaning everything."

"I'm not a maniac!" Cat exclaims

"I said _like_ a maniac, Caterina." Jade chuckles "Calm down."

"Don't tell me to calm down!"

"I know, I know." Jade rolls her eyes "You can't control yourself, it's the hormones."

Cat is sitting on the floor next to the baby's crib, surrounded by all of the clothes and blankets that she has bought for her. It's Sunday, she just finished up her first full week of not working at Jet Vroom, and tomorrow will start her last full week of working at Rosie's and hopefully Macy's too. Her baby is coming, and she's coming soon.

Unfortunately, Cat has fallen victim to what all of the mommy books describe as 'nesting'. She woke up today, feeling the need to clean anything and everything in the apartment in order to prepare her nest for her baby. So far, she's changed the sheets on her bed, vacuumed the entire apartment, washed all the dishes, and is now moving on to organizing the dresser drawers attached to the baby's crib.

"Do you at least want us to help you?" Tori offers

She and Jade had come over in hopes of getting Cat to agree to let them throw her some kind of birthday party next weekend, but they found her like this and haven't had much luck.

"No..." Cat turns back to the pile of baby clothes "I can do it."

"Careful." Jade laughs, standing up and walking over to her friend "You're little enough that you might disappear in that pile if you're not careful."

"I'm not little!" Cat insists "I used to be little. But then I got pregnant and now I'm a fucking whale!"

"Oh shut up, Cat. For the millionth time, you're not fat." Jade tells her, sitting down on the floor next to her "You're growing another human being, a month from now you'll probably be back to normal, knowing you and your metabolism. Tori, come help us fold."

"Oh shit..." Cat sighs "In a month I'll be a mom."

"Well you didn't expect her to stay in there forever, did you?" Tori laughs, sitting down on the floor next to her friends

"God no!" Cat shrieks, both hands flying to her baby bump "Oh god...if she keeps getting any bigger I don't know what I'll do, I feel like I might explode. I mean, in like two weeks or less, there's going to be a little, tiny, human being sleeping in this crib and depending on me for everything. That's so scary."

"It's exciting too." Jade reminds her "Don't you want to know what she's going to look like? Act like? Just generally be like?"

"Well yeah..." Cat shrugs "I just don't want her life to be horrible because I screwed up and didn't know what I was doing."

"No first time parent knows what they're doing."

"I know, I know."

"Well, if it helps, my students at school are super excited for you." Tori tells Cat

"Why would you tell them that?" Jade rolls her eyes

"I was just explaining to them that I'll probably have to take a day or two off of work in the next few weeks because my best friend is having a baby!" Tori explains, nudging Cat's arm in an attempt to get her to smile, which thankfully works "It's more the girls being excited than the boys, but they're begging me to show them pictures ASAP."

"Well, hopefully they'll have them sooner than later." Cat sighs "God, I really hope she's not late. I don't even care if we have the same birthday or not anymore. I'm just done being pregnant. I can't sleep, my back hurts, my feet hurt, there's a bowling ball in my abdomen..."

"Hey speaking of birthdays..." Tori says, bringing up the original reason her and Jade had come over in the first place "What are we doing for yours?"

"Uh, probably nothing." Cat tells her, placing a folded onesie in the top drawer "Top drawer is for newborn clothes, middle is for anything after that, and bottom is for blankets."

"What do you mean, nothing?" Tori exclaims "Cat! We're not going to ignore your birthday!"

"I'll either be in the hospital with the baby or at home trying to figure out how to take care of the baby." Cat reminds them "Celebrating it will be pointless."

"It's your birthday!"

"And it will be the first one I get to spend with my daughter." Cat shrugs "That will make it special enough. I don't need anything else."

"I'm not standing for that." Tori shakes her head "Jade?"

"Yeah, absolutely not." Jade agrees "We're going to celebrate whether you like it or not."

"Guys..."

"Here's the deal." Jade stops her "Baby is born on or before her due date? Awesome. We'll bring pizza to the hospital and celebrate there, _or_ we'll bring pizza over here, depending on what happens and how things work out. Baby is late? Again, depending on what happens, we'll either bring pizza to the hospital or bring pizza here. Tori?"

"Sounds good to me." Tori nods

"Do I get a say in this?" Cat asks

"No!" Both Tori and Jade say in unison

"We gave you the opportunity and you declined." Jade reminds her

"No matter how hard I fight this, you two aren't going to budge, are you?" Cat sighs

"Nope."

"No we won't."

"Alright." Cat shakes her head "Whatever."

"You know you love us." Tori smiles, leaning her head on Cat's shoulder

"Yeah." Cat smirks, picking up a pair of baby pajamas "And I honestly don't know what I'd do if I didn't have you."


	25. Chapter 25

Much to Cat's dismay, her life for the next few days is about as normal as life can be for a twenty two year-old expectant mother. Nothing out of the ordinary happens, the baby shows no signs of making an early appearance at all.

And on the morning of February 12th, she's awoken by her alarm clock to find herself feeling one hundred percent fine. Sure, the baby is moving like crazy, but she's been that way for months now. And yes, her back and her feet hurt, but that isn't anything new either.

"You're really going to make me go to work today, aren't you Baby Girl?" Cat sighs, throwing the blankets off of her body and easing herself into the sitting position "I swear to god, if you make me get dressed and drive all the way to work and _then_ decide that you want to make your grand entrance...Mommy is not going to be a happy camper."

Then again, she already _isn't_ a happy camper. She had hoped that maybe, just maybe, the baby would decide to come early. Apparently not.

Cat climbs out of bed and grabs the outfit she had folded up and placed on her dresser the night before, then heads to the bathroom to change. Seeing the reflection of her bare, protruding abdomen in the mirror makes her even more anxious for her baby to arrive so she can be back to her normal size again, and wear her normal non-maternity clothes again.

Once she's dressed and her hair and makeup have been done, she heads to her kitchenette and pops two slices of bread into the toaster, then goes to check her phone. Three text messages, two from Tori and one from Jade, all wanting an update on the baby. She types out one response to send to both of them:

 _Feeling fine so far today, getting ready to leave for work. I don't think we're going to see a baby today :/ Hope I'm wrong though._

Sighing as she tosses her phone into her purse, she returns to the kitchen to eat her breakfast. Now that she isn't rushing off to Jet Vroom at 4:30 in the morning anymore, she actually has time to eat most days. Thank goodness too, it seems that the baby absorbs everything she eats these days. She's always hungry, but eating too much makes her feel sick. Her body really doesn't look any different than it did before she got pregnant, there's just an enormous baby bump now. Or maybe it's normal sized and only _looks_ enormous because she's so tiny...she doesn't know.

Her lunch is premade and in the fridge, so once she's done eating all she has to do grab it, throw it in her purse and she's out the door. The stairs that lead from the apartment down to the bakery have become difficult for her to climb in both directions. so it takes longer for her to get downstairs than she feels should be necessary. Just as she is about to walk out the back door, a voice from inside the bakery stops her.

"Cat!" It says "Where are you going?"

"Good morning, Rebecca." Cat smiles, turning around "I'm just on my way to work."

"That little girl just wants to stay in there as long as she can, doesn't she?" Rebecca frowns

"It's looking that way, yeah." Cat sighs, rubbing her bump gently "I, however, want her out as soon as possible."

"I know, that feeling." Rebecca laughs "And Austin came _early_. Keep us updated, okay?"

"I will." Cat nods, turning back towards the door "I'll see you later, have a good day!"

"You too, dear."

* * *

Cat's day is full of similar conversations, at work everyone was asking her:

 _"Still no baby?"_

 _"What are you ding here? Aren't you due today?"_

Of course, she didn't _want_ to be at work, but she _had_ to be. Her six weeks of leave don't start when the baby is born, they start whenever she stops working. So she plans on working every day until she goes into labor, which she prays will be sometime between now and seven tomorrow morning.

"Baby Girl..." Cat sighs upon entering her apartment when she arrives home from work "You're going to drive me crazy until you get here, do you realize that?"

She really does _not_ want to be pregnant anymore. She just wants her baby, and to be able to sleep in a normal position again, but mainly the baby. She's starting to think that this little girl has her father's sense of humor and is just playing a joke on her, something along the lines of 'Sorry Mom, I know you're miserable, but this is just too funny to me'.

"Is this because you think you don't have a name yet?" Cat asks the baby "Because that's not true. We talked about it last night, remember? You have a name. You and I are the only ones who know what it is, but you have one."

She's only just decided on a name, and doesn't plan on telling her friends until the baby is actually born. However, if this little girl decides to keep on waiting and waiting, she might just slip up and tell. Cat thinks it's a gorgeous name, one that will grow with her as she gets older. She's been saying it in different tones of voice, just to make sure it really does sound good out loud and not just in her head. It does, and she thinks it will fit her baby perfectly.

"You know, I'm actually considering ordering Indian food right now." Cat tells the baby "And usually, I _hate_ Indian food. Like, with a burning passion. But like I said, you're driving me crazy."


	26. Chapter 26

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" Jade, Beck, Tori and Andre all scream when Cat arrives home from work on February 14th

To say that Cat is taken by surprise would be an understatement, they absolutely terrify her.

"Fuck you all!" She shrieks, leaning against the doorway and clutching a hand to her chest "You scared the living shit out of me!"

"Well hey, maybe we'll finally send you into labor." Jade smirks, walking over to her friend and wrapping an arm around her "Come on in, we've got a nice little party set up for ya."

"How did you get in here?" Cat asks, still trying to catch her breath "I didn't give any of you a key."

"Lucky for us the nice couple who runs the bakery had a spare." Beck smirks, walking over to give Cat a hug "Happy Birthday."

"Thanks." Cat sighs "And remind me to talk to the nice couple downstairs about letting people up here."

"Oh come on, they knew we were your friends."

"I know, I know." Cat sits down on her bed "God, I think you guys just took the rest of my remaining energy out of me."

"Still no signs of labor?" Tori asks

Cat shakes her head no.

"None at all?"

"Nope."

"Alright, alright. I can fix this." Andre announces pulling his phone out of his pocket "You see this on sitcoms all the time, there's ways to naturally induce labor."

"Sitcoms are scripted." Cat reminds him

"Well, there's got to be some truth to them."

"Wait, hang on." Jade stops him "Let her eat first, then you can experiment."

"There's food?" Cat perks up a little bit

"Yeah, there's food." Jade chuckles "We promised you pizza, didn't we?"

* * *

"This isn't working..." Cat groans "Literally, all it has done is exhaust me."

"Same here." Tori admits "I can only imagine how you feel."

The group of friends has been walking around downtown Los Angeles for close to an hour now. Andre read that exercise was supposed to help induce labor, and even if it didn't do that, it would help relive stress. Neither has happened for Cat so far.

"Okay, so maybe the exercise thing isn't going to work." Jade shrugs "Andre?"

"Hm?"

"What's the next idea on that list?"

"Um..." Andre retrieves his phone and opens the internet app, pulling up the webpage he had found earlier, as the rest of his friends take a seat on a bus stop bench "Uh...the second suggestion is to try having sex..."

"Not an option." Cat shakes her head "Next!"

"Obviously not." Andre chuckles "Um...number three is nipple stimulation..."

"Next!"

"Membrane stripping?"

"What the hell does that even mean?" Jade asks, looking over Andre's shoulder, hoping to see some kind of explanation on the screen "Oh..."

"Yeah if that's what I think it is, then we don't have time for that." Cat sighs "Nor do I think I want to try it. Is there a fifth option?"

"Acupuncture?"

"Hell no! That shit is expensive!"

"How about acupressure?"

"Is there a difference?"

"Apparently." Andre shrugs "It says you could down a dose of castor oil...but that it only works in about fifty percent of women."

"Knowing my luck, I'll be part of the fifty percent where nothing happens." Cat sighs "And then I'll just be shitting my pants for the next few days."

"Wouldn't want you shitting your pants, now would we?" Andre chuckles

"Not funny." Cat glares at him

"I'll just keep reading then..." He turns back to his phone "The only other suggestion left is spicy food. And you said you already tried that, right?"

"I had spicy chicken curry from the Indian restaurant in the mall food court this afternoon and it hasn't done anything." Cat rests her head in her hands "Guys, this is actually the worst."

Jade wraps and arm around her friend and begins to rub her back gently. Tori sits down on the opposite side of Cat and hugs her as well. After sitting like that for a while, Jade speaks up.

"You know...it might not help induce labor or anything, but that ice cream place you like is only a couple blocks away." She whispers "We can get some more walking in _and_ we can get one of those apple pie sundaes."

"Well now we have to go." Cat smirks, turning to her friend "The baby heard 'apple pie sundae' and now she just _has_ to have one."

"Come on." Jade chuckles, standing up

Jade and Tori help Cat to her feet and the three women walk arm-in-arm down the sidewalk with Andre and Beck trailing behind them. For February in California, it actually is a beautiful night. Sure, they're not walking around in tank tops and shorts like they can in the summer, but if you're adequately dressed, it's a great night to be outside.

"The sky out there is so pretty." Cat observes, nodding towards the sunset in front of them as they walk "So many shades and colors."

"You know that they say..." Tori smiles "A red sky at night is a sailor's delight."

"What the fuck?" Jade laughs "I've never heard that."

"It's from a poem." Tori tells her "I can't remember who wrote it, but it basically means that we'll have good weather tomorrow."

"Hear that, baby?" Cat shrieks "We're gonna have good weather tomorrow. _Perfect_ day for a birthday! She's doing this just to spite me, you know?"

"Wow, baby girl." Jade chuckles "You're not even born yet and you're already acting like an angsty teenager. Good for you."

"Don't encourage her." Cat begs "Otherwise I might be pregnant forever."


	27. Chapter 27

Sunday morning at around three o'clock in the morning, Cat is awoken by a sharp pain in her abdomen. It pulls her abruptly out of sleep and forces her to sit upright in bed.

"Holy shit..." She gasps

She's not sure what it was, but the pain doesn't last long, nor does it reappear. Convinced that she must have imagined it, she lays down and goes back to sleep for another few hours until she's awoken again around eight o'clock. She's able to fall back to sleep after a few minutes, but finds herself being woken up constantly about every 20 minutes or so. Finally around nine o'clock, the pain is in her pelvic area, and it lasts much longer than the previous pains.

"Oh god..." She whispers "It's happening."

 _It's happening_.

She's in labor, she has to be. There's no other explanation.

Excited and also frantic, she waits a few minutes and then pulls herself out of bed just as another contraction happens to start, and finds herself shrieking with pain and also surprise as she falls to her knees right next to her bed.

 _Breathe._ She thinks to herself _That's what they always tell the women on TV. You have to breathe._

The contraction is short, thankfully, and she's able to keep herself calm. Her cell phone is within arms reach, and with her freehand that isn't being used to dial Jade's cell phone number, she finds herself rubbing her bump.

"We're okay." She whispers, holding the phone to her ear "We're going to call Aunt Jade and Uncle Beck and they're going to come get us. We're okay, we're going to be fine..."

She's not sure if she's trying to convince the baby or herself...

After six dial tones, Cat grows impatient and hangs up on Jade. She opens Beck's contact and tries calling him instead.

"Please pick up..." She murmurs to herself "Please please please..."

"Hello?" She hears Beck's tired voice answer on the other end of the phone

"Beck?!"

"Cat?" He answers

"Are you with Jade?"

"Yeah, she's here. But she's still asleep." He tells her "Why is everything okay?"

"I think I'm in labor."

Beck doesn't answer her directly, but she hears him start yelling at Jade to wake up. There's a rustling sound, but then Cat hears Jade's voice.

"Cat?" She says "Hi, are you sure you're in labor?"

"I can't think of what else it would be." Cat admits "I woke up at like three with this really sharp pain, but it went away right away and I didn't think anything of it. Then I just woke up with the same pain only lower and, and, ahhhh..."

"Are you having that pain again?" Jade asks

"Mmmmm... uh huh..." Cat manages to communicate

"Alright. Just stay calm, okay?" Jade orders her "And sit tight. We're on our way to get you."

* * *

"Well, Cat..." Her nurse sighs, sitting down on the edge of her hospital bed "I have good news and bad news for you. Which would you like first?"

"Bad."

"You are no where _near_ dilated enough for the doctor to feel comfortable giving you an epidural." The nurse frowns

"Oh..." Cat moans, falling back against the pillows Jade had propped up behind her head for support

"You said there was good news though, right?" Jade asks the nurse

"There is." The nurse nods "You are most definitely in active labor. You're not leaving this hospital until you have this little baby of yours."

"Oh..." Cat manages to smile "That's good."

"Your chart says you're five days late already."

"Uh huh..." Cat nods

"Well, it shouldn't be long now." The nurse smiles, standing up "Congratulations."

"Thank you." Cat responds as the nurse exits her room "Hey Jade?"

"What's up?"

"Want to go beat up one of the doctors and make him give me my epidural now?" Cat laughs

"You know, if I thought that would work, I might just do it..." Jade chuckles "But unfortunately I don't think it will."

"Hey!" Andre announces, bursting into the hospital room holding his wife's hand "We're here. Sorry we're late, but we're here."

"What took you so long?" Beck asks as the married couple enters the room

"Have you ever tried to get down Sunset on a Sunday morning?" Andre looks horrified "When people are trying to get to church, or to brunch or when tourists are trying to beat the crowds?"

"Sunset is always bad."

"What's important is that we're here now." Tori says, walking over to Cat's bed and hugging her "My mom sends her love and says she's thinking of you."

"Thanks." Cat tells her

"What's the status?" Tori asks, taking a seat on the arm of the chair Jade is sitting in, shrugging her purse off of her shoulder and letting it fall to the floor

"She's for sure in labor." Jade tells her "About four centimeters dilated and she can't have her epidural yet."

The mention of the lack of epidural causes Cat to make a pouty face.

"And she wants me to beat up the doctor so they'll give her one anyway." Jade adds

"I'd pay to see that." Tori laughs

"Dude." Beck nudges Andre's arm "Did you know when they give you an epidural, they put the needle in your back? And that the needle is like, three inches long and half a centimeter in diameter?"

"Ouch, no!" Andre grabs the small of his back "Cat! You're going to willingly let them stick that in you?!"

"If it makes the contractions not hurt so bad, yes!" Cat exclaims "Oh, holy shit!"

She pulls her knees up to her chest and rolls onto her side as another contraction hits. Jade grabs her hand and lets her squeeze, while Tori moves so she's kneeling next to the bed and reaches up, rubbing Cat's back gently. Beck and Andre can't do much more than watch from the other side of the room with horror.

"It hurts..." Cat mutters

"I know..." Jade sighs "I know it does. But hey, just think of how great it's going to be to hold that little baby of yours."

"Yeah." Tori agrees, smiling "You're going to meet your daughter soon."

"I...I..." Cat manages to smile, although her lip is quivering because of the pain "I g-get to meet my daughter."


	28. Chapter 28

_**Hi everyone! Sorry for the lack of updates, I know I left it at a bad spot. I was out of town and forgot my laptop, but I'm back now! I'll continue to update on a semi-regular basis again. (Today is also my four year anniversary of being on FanFiction. Doesn't really mean anything, just a fun fact.)**_

* * *

"I JUST WANT IT TO STOP!" Cat shrieks, writhing beneath the sheets in her hospital bed "IT HURTS SO BAD!"

"I know it does, Cat. I know it does." Jade frowns "They're getting the anesthesiologist right now, okay? He's going to get you an epidural and the pain will get so much more manageable, I promise."

Beck and Andre had stepped out, not wanting to be in the room when Cat was basically half naked and getting a needle shoved into her back, which was understandable. But Jade and Tori had stayed with her, knowing she would need someone with her to help keep her calm.

She's been in labor for close to nine hours now, and is just now to the point where the doctor thought it would be appropriate to give her an epidural to help with her pain. If it had been up to Jade, she would have gotten one the moment she got to the hospital, but the contractions hadn't gotten strong enough yet.

Cat thought the contractions were bad when she _got_ to the hospital. But those were a piece of cake. Those she could just close her eyes, squeeze someone's hand, and will her way though. The ones that started occurring about an hour ago? She doesn't think it can get any worse than this, she doesn't want to _find out_ if it can get any worse than this. She's thrashing around, screaming in pain, trying to relieve some of the pain, but nothing she does works. She's knows her reaction might be extreme, but she can't think of any other way to handle it.

"Will I still...still be able to f-f-feel them?" Cat looks up at Jade, trying to catch her breath as the contraction starts to fade

"A little bit..." Jade nods "But they'll just feel like really bad cramps you would get when you have your period. Not...whatever this is..."

"I feel like I'm being stabbed." Cat chokes back a sob

Jade doesn't know how to respond, she just rubs her friend's shoulder, hoping she can provide some kind of comfort that way. She looks over at Tori and the two women exchange the most painful look of 'I don't know how much longer I can bare to see her like this'. They hate seeing their best friend in so much pain and not being able to do anything about it.

"Hopefully that was the last _really_ bad one, Cat." Tori speaks up "The doctors will be here really soon to get you the epidural."

"We're here." The anesthesiologist says, entering the room with a nurse and a tray of tools "Don't worry, Cat. We're going to get you the good stuff. Go ahead and swing your legs over the side of the bed and face those two ladies over there, okay?"

"Okay." Cat can't help but laugh at the doctor's comment as she sits up "Oooh..."

"You good?" Tori asks, taking Cat's hand and helping her sit

"Yeah..." Cat nods "The baby just shifted and...I don't know. It felt really strange."

Jade readjusts the chair next to the bed so it's facing Cat head on and sits down in it. Tori kneels on the floor next to her and each of them hold one of Cat's hands.

"This is going to be cold..." The nurse tells Cat as she smears numbing cream onto her back "But it will make the needle less painful."

"It actually feels kind of nice..." Cat manages to smile

She's been laying on her back for a majority of the day now, the cold cream is welcoming to her warm skin.

"Ouch!" She shrieks when she feels a small pinch on her skin "What was that?"

"Sorry." The nurse apologizes "That was a numbing shot, most people don't feel it much after we put the creme on. It's so that the actual epidural needle doesn't hurt as bad."

"Oh...okay."

"Alright..." She hears the anesthesiologist say "You're going to feel a pinch, everyone responds to the pain differently. You can react how ever you need to, all I ask is that you try to stay as still as possible. Do you think you can do that for me?"

"Uh huh..." Cat nods

"Okay, here we go..."

"Shit!" Cat winces, closing her eyes and squeezing Tori and Jade's hands tightly "Shit, shit, shit, shit!"

"Shhh..." Jade tries to calm her "You're almost done...almost done..."

She has no idea if the anesthesiologist is actually anywhere close to being done, but she hopes that if she's confident that he is, it will help her friend.

"Are you almost done?" Cat asks

"Actually, we _are_ done." The nurse tells her, retying the laces on Cat's hospital gown "Go ahead and lay back down; I would suggest a comfortable position. Once this epidural kicks in you won't be able to easily move anything from the waist down."

"Okay." Cat nods, laying back down "Thank you so much."

"Not a problem." The nurse assures her "And congratulations on your new addition."

"Thank you." Cat sighs as Jade and Tori help her lay back down "I read somewhere that these drugs actually slow labor down..."

"They do..." Jade shrugs "But not a lot."

"Good." Cat nods "Too much longer like this and I don't know what I'll do..."

"You're going to be fine." Tori assures her, touching Cat's shoulder, then turns to speak to Jade "Hey, I'm going to go call work. I'll be right back."

"Shit, okay." Jade nods "I still have to do that. I'll go when you get back. Send the boys back in while you're out there."

"You two are not calling in sick to work." Cat says to Jade as Tori leaves "I can't let you do that."

"We're not calling in sick." Jade promises her "We're taking personal days."

"Jade, no."

"Um, Cat. They're called _personal_ days because we personally get to decided what we do with them." Jade reminds her "And personally, we're choosing to take the day off because I seriously doubt this baby will come before midnight and we want to be here with our best friend when her first child is born."

"You don't have to do-"

"Nope." Jade covers Cat's mouth with her hand "Don't say it. We know we don't have to, but we _want_ to."


	29. Chapter 29

"I actually cannot fucking believe you guys." Cat says, giving her friends a rather annoyed look from where she lays in her hospital bed "It is literally almost 1:00 in the morning and you're all sitting there drinking milkshakes."

"The cafeteria downstairs is closed, the lounge down the hallway is out of coffee, Jet Vroom is closed...the only thing open was Inside Out Burger!" Andre exclaims "What do you want from us?"

"I want you to not be drinking chocolate strawberry milkshakes in front of me when you are very well aware of the fact that I am starving and not allowed to eat anything besides saltine crackers and ice chips." Cat responds

"We've got to stay awake some how! Like you said, it's almost one o'clock!"

"You're tired?" Cat scoffs "Try being in labor for sixteen hours and not being allowed to eat anything! I'm _exhausted_. And those milkshakes look so good..."

"I'll tell you what, Cat..." Beck finishes up the rest of his milkshake "Tomorrow for lunch? I'll go to Inside Out Burger and get you a double cheeseburger, fries, and a large chocolate strawberry milkshake. How does that sound?"

"That sounds delicious." Cat admits "But the way this is going, I might still me in labor at lunchtime tomorrow."

"No you won't be..." Jade assures her "I'm pretty sure after twenty-four hours they'll just slice you open and do a C-section."

"What?" Cat shrieks, grabbing her abdomen

"Way to be sensitive..." Tori rolls her eyes "And I don't think it's twenty-four hours, but she's right. After a certain point they'll just do a C-section."

"I'm sorry..." Jade apologizes "I get irritable past 11:30."

"I don't want a C-section..." Cat whimpers "I won't be able to recover from a surgery and take care of her!"

"Take care of who?" Jade decides to try her luck

"The baby." Cat says flatly "Stop trying to trick me! I'll tell you what her name is when she's born."

"Worth a shot." She sighs, resting her head on her boyfriend's shoulder

"Knock knock!" A nurse says from the doorway "I'm here to check dilation."

Even Cat would agree that this woman is _much_ too cheery for one o'clock, but at this point, if she brings her closer to delivering the baby, she doesn't really care.

"Okay." Cat nods

As the nurse approaches the foot of Cat's bed, Beck and Andre moved rapidly to make sure they are nowhere near it when the nurse checks her dilation.

"I don't get it." Cat laughs, looking from the two nervous boy's next to her, to her other friends sitting on the couch next to her bed "First of all, they where no where near being able to see anything, and second of all, aren't guys supposed to enjoy looking at that?"

"Not when the person's that your looking at is basically your little sister!" Andre exclaims

"And when there's a baby coming out of it..." Beck adds

"Ten." The nurse says, removing her gloves

"Ten what?"

"Centimeters." The nurse smiles "I'll go find Doctor Evans. Get ready to have a baby."

A wave of excitement and disbelief falls over everyone in the room.

 _The baby is finally coming_.

* * *

"It hurts!" Cat screams "Oh my god, it hurts!"

Sweat pours down her face, mixing with the tears flowing from her eyes. Her hair is damp, and strands of it cling to her forehead, making her even more uncomfortable than she already is.

"I know, I know it does." Jade grabs her hand, clutching it tightly "But you're doing so great, Cat. The baby is going to be here before you know it!"

"I want it out now!" Cat cries "Please! Get it out now!"

"The baby is crowning, Cat." The doctor tells her "It's all going to be over real soon, okay? But I need you to keep pushing."

Jade exchanges a look with Tori, who is standing on the opposite side of Cat's bed, holding her other hand. Both of them are thinking the same thing, they feel absolutely terrible for their friend. She went through a rough pregnancy, terrible morning sickness, ridiculous back pain, all while working three jobs, and now she's going through her eighteenth hour of excruciating labor pains, and her second hour of pushing. On top of all of that, when the baby finally arrives, she's going to be a single mom.

Jade feels like she could almost cry, and Jade West never cries.

Cat takes a deep breath and begins to scream as she starts pushing again. She's feeling almost all the pain, with her labor progressing so slowly, the epidural she had gotten about eight hours earlier has basically almost worn off entirely. Now she's too far long to get another one.

Meanwhile, out in the hallway, Beck Oliver and Andre Harris pace back and forth, both nervous hearing their friend screaming and crying out in pain. Cat had had given them the option to stay in the room if they wanted, but they thought the job was more suited for Tori and Jade.

"Please tell me it's over." Cat begs

"No, not yet." The doctor shakes her head "One more round of pushing, hopefully."

Cat moans, resting her head back against the pillow.

She can't believe this is happening. She didn't expect to be a Mom this soon, let alone a single mom. She's in labor and she's having a baby. It doesn't seem possible for any of this to be real. It's not some dream that she's going to wake up from, in a matter of minutes, she's going to be a mom.

"Alright Cat, here we go!" The doctor announces "Ready? 1...2...3...push!"

Cat lets out one last, high-pitched, blood-curdling scream as she puts what little energy she has left into one last push that will hopefully bring her baby into the world. Everyone in the labor and delivery wing can hear her, but she doesn't care. She's in so much pain.

"Come on...almost there!"

Cat continues screaming until she feels all the pressure in her pelvis finally disappear, finally feeling relief after almost eighteen hours.

"She's here." The doctor smiles as a baby's cry fills the room "Congratulations, Cat. It's a little girl."

"Oh my god." Cat gasps, tears of pain turning to tears of joy

Of course, she knew it was going to be a girl, but everything still feels so surreal.

"Who's cutting the cord?" a nurse asks

"Godmother..." Cat pants, still trying to catch her breath, pointing to Jade

"Me?" Jade asks, shocked

"Yeah." Cat nods "You."

The nurse hands the scissors to Jade and she cuts the baby's umbilical cord. The nurse then wipes off her mouth and nose before spreading a towel on Cat's chest and laying the screaming infant down.

"Oh my god," Cat gasps, looking down at the baby in absolute awe "You're so beautiful!"

She presses a kiss to her daughter's forehead, not even caring that she's still covered in blood and other fluids.

Nine months of waiting, and she's finally meeting her daughter. She's screaming, covered in gunk, and her skin is bright red and blotchy, but Cat has never seen anything so beautiful.

The infant is taken to be cleaned up, leaving Cat alone with her two friends.

"That just happened." Cat says, visually terrified "Oh my god, my head is spinning."

"It's going to be fine." Tori assures her "We're all here to help you out."

The few nurses still left in the room help Cat clean up, while Jade leaves the room to retrieve the two boys waiting in the hallway.

"I always knew singers had strong lungs, but _damn_ Cat..." Andre laughs "We thought someone was trying to murder you."

"It felt like it..." Cat admits

"Where's the baby?" Beck asks, looking around the room

"Calm down, Uncle Beck..." Jade laughs, wrapping her arms around her boyfriend "They're giving her a bath, she'll be back soon."

About half an hour later, a nurse returns with Cat's daughter, wrapped up in a little pink blanket with a matching pink hat on her head.

"Here you go, Mama." She smiles, passing the baby to Cat "Six pounds, two ounces; a healthy baby girl."

"Thank you." Cat smiles, relived to hear that they didn't find anything wrong "Hi there, sweetie...I'm your mommy..."

And now it's finally hitting her. This is her daughter, laying right here in her arms. Her daughter, who up until just a little while ago she had been carrying around inside of her and protecting for nine long months. She's a mommy, she's responsible for another human life.

"You did it, Cat." Jade smiles, kneeling down next to the bed "She's here."

"I know." Cat grins, tears filling her eyes as she kisses the sleeping baby's forehead "And she's _perfect_."

"Which name did you end up picking?"

"Alacia..." She tells them, not even taking her eyes off her daughter "Alacia Avery Valentine."


	30. Chapter 30

"Their sleep schedules are going to be so fucked up." Beck sighs, his eyes shifting back and forth from Jade to Tori

"Not as fucked up as Cat's will be..." Andre chuckles

"Cat won't be going back to work for a while though." Beck reminds his friend "These two seem intent on going back tomorrow."

Cat had been moved from the labor and delivery floor to a standard room in the maternity wing. Alacia had been taken to the nursery for the time being, so they could run the standard tests that they needed to. The nurses had to practically pry the baby out of Cat's arms, insisting that the new mom get some rest while she was being given the opportunity. Eventually she gave in, and the group of five friends were left alone in the hospital room. Beck and Andre tried to convince Jade and Tori that they needed to go home and get some rest, as the entire group had been up since nine o'clock the previous morning, but the two women insisted on staying at the hospital. The lack of sleep has caught up to them though, Cat is fast asleep in her hospital bed. Beck is laying on the couch, Jade passed out in his arms and sleeping with her head on his chest; Andre is sitting in the armchair next to Cat's bed with Tori on his lap, also sleeping, with her head on his shoulder.

"They won't go back tomorrow." Andre smirks

"They might." Beck shrugs, mindful not to wake Jade

"I predict that both of them stay out for the entire week." Andre bets "I would say 'let's bet and shake on it', but if I move my arm I'll wake my wife, and she will not be a very pleasant person."

"Alright." Beck laughs "A wager free bet then."

If you've ever wondered what's on TV at 6:00 on a Monday morning, the answer is 'a whole lot of nothing interesting'. Beck and Andre should know; they spent close to fifteen minutes channel surfing, as the hospital TV does not have a 'guide' option, before finally settling on reruns of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. They've been watching it for almost an hour now.

"Maybe we should try to sleep too..." Beck suggests "I mean, you know we won't be able to when the girls wake up."

"I know..." Andre sighs "I don't know if I can though. This chair isn't exactly comfortable."

"Neither is this couch..." Beck laughs "Plus, my leg is asleep. And I can't move it around to wake it up otherwise I'll wake up Jade."

"Don't you two get me started on uncomfortable..." Cat mumbles

Beck and Andre exchange a look that confirms that, yes, they both heard her say something. But her eyes are still closed, and up until just a second ago they had both been so sure that she was out cold.

"Cat?" Beck asks

"Mhm?" She responds without opening her eyes

"Are you awake? Or are you talking in your sleep?"

"I'm awake." She opens her eyes slightly "Actually, I was never asleep to begin with."

"You've been awake this entire time?" Andre asks her

"Mhm..."

"Cat, why?" Beck sighs

"Yeah." Andre agrees "You need your rest."

"I just pushed a baby out of me..." Cat tells them "I'm a little sore. Not to mention I have mommy adrenaline pumping through my body and I just _can't_."

"You sound tired."

"I am."

"Well...why don't you try going to sleep again." Beck suggests "Andre and I will be quiet."

"We will." Andre nods "And we'll wake you if they bring the baby in."

"Okay..." Cat yawns, slowly closing her eyes again "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Cat."

* * *

She has only been alive and out in the world for eight hours, but Cat already loves Alacia more than she's ever loved anyone or anything on this planet before. More than she loved the Waggafuffles when she was a little girl, more than she loved her dog that had passed away right before she went to college, more than she loved her parents or her friends, even more than she had loved Robbie Shapiro.

And as pathetic as it may sound, she still loves Robbie. Over the past nine months that they've been apart she's learned to suppress her feelings and tuck them away, almost forgetting them entirely. But staring down at the little girl that was fifty percent him has made her remember, so now it's time to forget all over again. She can't focus on him, she needs to focus on this little girl that just arrived here in her life. She's trusting her mother to take care of her, love her, and protect her from harm; that's exactly what Cat is going to do. She's going to focus on being a mom and not the past that she has left behind.

"What did you say her nickname was going to be?" Jade asks, leaning over her boyfriend's shoulder to look at their goddaughter he's holding in his arms

"Lacey." Cat smiles

"Lacey." Jade repeats, looking up at her friend and then back to the baby "It fits her perfectly."

"Hi Lacey..." Beck coos "My name is Uncle Beck, and I love yooooou..."

"Great." Jade rolls her eyes "Now he wants one, thanks Cat."

"Sorry." Cat chuckles

"Hey." Jade turns her boyfriend's head to face her so they're eye to eye "No time soon, understand me? Put a ring on it first."

"Yes ma'am." Beck laughs

"You know..." Tori smirks, turning to Andre

"Nope." Andre shakes his head

"Andre!"

"We agreed we wouldn't even talk about considering it until the first anniversary." He reminds her "Remember?"

"Yeah..." Tori sighs "I remember..."

Andre presses a kiss to his wife's cheek and wraps an arm around her as they continue to watch a baby.

Just to clarify, there's absolutely nothing interesting about a newborn baby. All Alacia has done so far is eat, cry, sleep, and poop. But everyone in the room, especially Cat, is absolutely _amazed_ by her; they're all in love.

Just then, Alacia begins to fuss, then whimper, and then cry. Beck tries his best to calm her down, but ultimately he ends up passing her back to her mother.

"What's the matter, little Lacey Bug?" Cat whispers, rocking the baby gently "You just ate, and I know your diaper isn't wet yet."

After just a few minutes of being back with Cat, Lacey quiets down and falls back to sleep again.

"You're a baby whisperer, Lil' Red." Andre grins

"Yeah, right." Cat scoffs

"You've got a smart kid there, Cat." Jade says "She knows who her Mommy is, she knows you'll make it better."

"Right..." Cat smiles, looking down at Lacey "I'm Mommy..."


	31. Chapter 31

Beck was right and both Tori and Jade return to work the day following Lacey's birth, although neither one of them is very happy about it. Both women wanted to stay with their friend an extra day, but Cat was able to convince them otherwise.

"I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself." She had told them "There's nurses and doctors here if either of us need anything. We'll both be fine."

So, after much persuasion, Tori and Jade went home on Monday night to get a much needed good night's sleep so they could go to work on Tuesday morning. Beck and Andre went to work on Tuesday as well, but it was easier for them.

Being by herself wasn't really all that bad. Nurses came by periodically to check on Cat and make sure she was still feeling okay, and the pediatrician came by twice to check on the baby. Lacey sleeps for a majority of the day, only fussing when she is hungry, needs to be changed, or wants out of her plastic nursery crib to be held. Cat doesn't mind holding her; she loves cuddling with her and watching her snuggle her face against her mother's chest for comfort. Jade is right, she knows exactly who Mommy is and that she can make everything better, at least in theory.

Her friends can't stay away for long, though. At almost exactly 5:30, Tori, Andre, Beck and Jade all walk into Cat's hospital room, red and white Inside Out Burger bags in their hands. It was a day later than Beck promised, but Cat's cheeseburger tasted like heaven compared to the shitty hospital food she's had to eat the past few days, and her milkshake? It tastes like perfection.

"I told you guys I would be able to survive on my own today." Cat smirks, taking another sip of her milkshake "We both survived."

"What did you even do all day?"

"Well, I introduced Miss Lacey to the wonders of HGTV..." Cat chuckles "And we got poked and prodded by a couple doctors, and we cuddled, oh, and I talked to my mom..."

"Did she come see you?!" Jade asks, an almost furious look on her face

"Hell no." Cat scoffs "But I texted her and updated her and let her know how things stood."

"How did that go?"

"Well..." Cat sighs "It started with 'Mom, I had the baby. It's a girl, her name is Alacia'. And she asked if I was giving her up for adoption and I said no. She told me I was making a mistake and I told her Lacey wasn't the mistake, Robbie was. She said I would regret this and I told her that I surely wouldn't because Lacey is the most important thing in my life and she told me that she wasn't going to support me ruining my life as well as the life of an innocent child and that she didn't want to speak to me until I had come to my senses. So I'm basically never speaking to my mother again, and my father has done absolutely nothing to show me that _he's_ going to be supportive, so I really have no desire to ever speak to him again ever, either."

"Ho-ly shit." Beck exhales "Kid, are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Cat nods with confidence "Her and I have each other and we have you guys and that's all we need, isn't that right baby girl?"

"Right, Mom!" Tori responds in an almost cartoonish baby voice, speaking for the sleeping newborn she's holding in her arms "We're good."

"Lacey..." Cat chuckles "Tell them the good news that the doctor gave us earlier."

"I can't respond to that one..." Tori laughs, looking down at Lacey "I don't actually know the answer."

"I know. I just wanted to see how far you would take it." Cat smiles "But the good news is that we get to go home tomorrow. Unless something major happens, but I doubt that it will."

"That really is great news."

* * *

"They're going to freak..." Cat sighs, turning her key in the lock to open the back door to the bakery "At least Rebecca will."

"Have you given them any updates since we left here the other morning?" Jade asks, passing Lacey's car seat from her right hand to her left to hold the door open for Cat

"They know her name, what time she was born and how much she weighed." Cat informs her friend "I tried to text Rebecca a picture, but the signal in the hospital really sucked."

Cat hadn't been able to drive herself to the hospital when she went into labor, so Beck and Jade had come to get her. And now Jade was taking it upon herself to make sure that both Cat and Lacey got home safely.

"Rebecca?" Cat calls when they enter the building "George?"

"I thought I heard some one come in!" George Thompson emerges from the back room where all of the baking actually takes place "Rebecca!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Rebecca rushes in to the back hallway from the front of the store "Welcome home, my dear."

"Thank you." Cat smiles. accepting the hug that Rebecca had given her

"I'd hug you as well..." George tells her "But I'm covered in flour."

"You're good." Cat chuckles "Um, so...this is the baby."

Jade turns the car seat around and Cat pulls the shade back, revealing the sleeping newborn inside. She wears a dark grey pair of footed pajamas covered in white clouds that reads 'Hello, I'm New Here' across her chest, and a light pink hat.

"Oh, isn't she just precious?" Rebecca coos, playing gently with the baby's hand "Little Alicia."

"Alacia." Cat corrects her "We call her Lacey."

"Lacey. What an adorable little nickname." Rebecca grins

"Let the girl go upstairs, Rebecca." George tells his wife "Poor thing is probably exhausted."

"I really am." Cat admits

"Oh, alright." Rebecca hugs Cat again "Let us know if you need anything, okay?"

"Thank you, I will."

Jade follows Cat up the back staircase, walking slowly because her lower body is still sore from the delivery. Once inside the apartment, Cat makes a beeline for her bed and flops down on her stomach.

"Um..." Jade chuckles, setting the car seat down "Forgetting something."

"Just give me one second." Cat holds up her index finger "Let me enjoy it for just a little while longer...okay, I'm good."

She stands up again and walks over to where her best friend had set the car seat, kneeling down and carefully removing the sleeping baby, cautious not to wake her up.

"Okay, Lacey..." She whispers "Welcome home, baby girl. I know it's really not much to look at, but it's just temporary. I promise you."

Slowly, she carries Lacey over to the crib in the corner and gently places her down inside. She kisses her daughter's forehead softly and murmurs a quiet 'I love you' before turning back to Jade.

"I don't even know what to do now." She admits "What do I do?"

"Take a nap." Jade smirks, nodding towards the bed "I'll still be here when you wake up."

"Jade, you don't have t-"

"Stop." Jade holds a hand up, cutting Cat off "I'm going to. I'm here until tomorrow morning when I need to leave for work."

"Are you serious?"

"One hundred percent." Jade nods "You can't spend the first night by yourself, I won't let you."

Cat doesn't say anything, but takes the few steps separating them towards Jade and wraps her arms around her. Jade normally isn't one for hugs, but this time, she decides it's okay. Neither of them says anything, because the exchange between them speaks volumes enough.


	32. Chapter 32

"She looks just like you..." Jade remarks, turning her head to look at the baby resting on Cat's chest

"That's what you all seem to keep telling me, yeah." Cat smiles "Thank goodness too. I read online that babies normally look like their fathers for about the first twelve to eighteen months of their lives, and I don't know how I would be handling it if she looked like Robbie."

"You would love her just the same."

"Yeah, you're right."

"You know, I bet if the Cat in her is already overpowering the Robbie in her, she's going to grow up to look just like you." Jade nudges her friend, gently of course so the baby isn't disturbed "It'll be like looking in a mirror."

"A mirror that takes you back in time." Cat laughs

The two women are laying next to each other on top of Cat's bed, watching reruns of Friends on TV. Lacey, already exhausted from her big homecoming earlier in the day, is fast asleep on her mother's chest.

"You really don't have to stay here tonight if you don't want to." Cat tells Jade for what must be the hundredth time that night "I don't want you to be completely dead when you go to work tomorrow."

"Don't you think if I didn't want to be here, I would have left by now?" Jade raises an eyebrow at her "We _want_ to help out, Cat. And not because we pity you or anything like that, because you're our friend and that's what friends do. Not to mention that there isn't anything I wouldn't do for my little goddaughter there."

"We got really lucky, didn't we Lacey?" Cat smiles, looking at the sleeping baby "We've got lots of good people surrounding us."

Lacey's nose twitches in her sleep, and for a moment the two women fear she might wake up. After a few seconds, however, the baby settles down and is fast asleep again, like nothing ever happened.

"I..." Cat yawns "I'm going to move her to her crib."

"That's probably a good idea." Jade agrees

Both women are exhausted and about to fall asleep at any given minute. The last thing Cat wants to do is to fall asleep with the baby on her chest and accidentally roll on top of her or let her fall.

Carefully, she shifts the baby into a position where she can sit up, readjusts her in her arms, and stands up, carrying her the few feet across the apartment to the vacant crib.

"Remember to put her on her back." Jade reminds her

"I know, I'm not _completely_ clueless." Cat sighs "Here we go, baby girl, nice and comfy, huh?"

She grabs a blanket out of one of the drawers underneath the changing table section of the crib and tucks it loosly around the baby.

"Goodnight, Alacia Avery." Cat leans down into the crib and softly kisses the baby's forehead "I love you to the moon and back."

* * *

Around 2:30 in the morning, Lacey is wide awake, whimpering in her crib. Neither her mother or her godmother can hear her, but she needs them _right now_. Gradually, the whimpers grow into a soft cry, and then into full out screaming.

"Cat..." Jade doesn't even open her eyes, but tries to shake her friend awake

"I hear her..." Cat groans, throwing the blankets off of her body and standing up "I hear you baby, hang on!"

She grabs a sweatshirt off the floor and pulls it on over her head and then goes over to the crib.

"I know, I know..." She picks up the screaming infant "You're hungry, aren't you? Just hang on..."

She switches on the lamp in the corner so she's not fumbling around in the dark. The hospital sent her home with a dozen or so premade plastic bottles, filled with newborn appropriate servings of formula, and she might as well use them if she has them.

"Shh..." She tries to keep Lacey calm while she rummages through the diaper bag looking for them

Everything seems to be a lot harder now that she really only has one hand.

"Here we go, here's a bottle." She whispers, grabbing the plastic bottle hand carrying it over to the rocking chair with her "We'll get you some food, sweetie. Here we go..."

Once her mother has slipped the rubber bottle nipple into her mouth, Lacey quiets down instantly, trying to suck all of the formula out as fast as she can.

"Wow..." Cat chuckles "You really _were_ hungry, weren't you?"

"I thought you were planning on nursing her?" Jade mumbles from the bed, her head practically facedown in a pillow

"I was..." Cat sighs "But with her being at daycare for a majority of the day and me having to move back and forth between two jobs, it would be too difficult. Even if I did find time to pump, there wouldn't be anywhere to keep the milk once I got to Rosie's."

"Oh..." Jade mumbles

"Go back to sleep, Jade." Cat tells her "You have to go to work in the morning."

"No...I said I would help you."

"I'm fine." Cat assures her, stifling a yawn "It's just a bottle, I'll be okay. Go back to sleep."

"Mmmmkay."

Cat continues feeding Lacey, gently pushing the rocking chair back and forth with her foot as she does so. Lacey's eyes aren't open anymore, even she too is fighting sleep.

"Almost there, sweetheart." Cat whispers "Just a little bit more, you can do it."

The first time she had to get up with the baby tonight was the first time that it really hit her: this amazing little human being in her arms is _hers,_ she's a mommy now.

"Never in my life did I ever think I could love someone so much, Alacia." Cat tells her daughter "But here you are."


	33. Chapter 33

_"Holy shit..." Eighteen-year old Cat Valentine stares down at the check in her hands_

 _An envelope had arrived in the mail today addressed to her with a return address in Albany, New York._

 _"Language please, Caterina." Her mother sighs_

 _"Sorry..." Cat apologizes "It's just, your mom sent me a very generous graduation check."_

 _She has only met her maternal grandmother maybe three or four times in her life that she can actually remember; with her old age and her living on the opposite side of the country, visiting was not only hard but expensive as well._

 _"People usually give money when you graduate high school." Her mother reminds her_

 _"I know, but two hundred dollars?"_

 _"You're her grandchild, she thinks the world of you and believes you can do no wrong." Her mother laughs "Every time I talk to her on the phone very rarely does she ever ask about me or your father. It's always 'Charlie and Cat, Charlie and Cat, how are Charlie and Cat?'."_

 _"Really?" Cat smirks_

 _"Really." She nods "That's just how grandparents are."_

"I'm sure your grandmother would think the world of you..." Cat sighs, looking down at Lacey as she rocks her gently in the rocking chair "You know, if she wasn't being so ridiculous. She always loved kids, especially babies. She would be in love with you. Then again, I think it would be rather difficult for anyone _not_ to fall in love with you. I'm extremely biased, of course. But I still think it's true."

Not having her parents around during her pregnancy hadn't really been that difficult for Cat. She lived on her own for her first year of college, and then after that she always had Robbie around, not her parents. Her friends had taken the place of her boyfriend during the past nine months and she had been fine.

But now she knows nothing about being a parent, and this baby is depending on her. Sure, she can feed her and change a diaper, she can swaddle her up in a blanket and cuddle her, but everything after that she's clueless. What does she do when she can't figure out what's wrong? What is worth calling the doctor over and what isn't? Is she holding her too much, or not enough? As much as she hates to admit it, Cat wishes she had her mom to offer some insight. But to call the two of them estranged would be a major understatement; it will take a miracle to get them talking again. And Cat's father will always side with his wife no matter what, so she'll probably never hear from him again either.

During a momentary lapse in judgment, Cat considered reaching out to Robbie's parents and enlightening them on everything that had happened. However, after sleeping on it she knew it wouldn't be a good idea. If she knows her ex-boyfriend's parents like she thinks she does, they would be livid with their son; having lost her relationship with her parents, she doesn't want him to have to go through the same thing. Not to mention that would probably bring him back into her life and into Lacey's as well, and she doesn't want her daughter to possibly have to deal with a father who doesn't want anything to do with her. Again, she knows that pain all too well.

"You deserve better, baby girl..." Cat admits "Out of all the parents in the world, you get stuck with me."

She's a single parent who doesn't know what she's doing and doesn't have anyone to turn to except a few of her closest friends, who don't really know what they're doing anymore than she does. She lives in a studio apartment and she works two jobs. The entire situation just _screams_ disaster to her. She loves her daughter so much and just wants to give her everything that she deserves and more, but right now she's feeling a little unsure of herself.

Scratch that.

She's feeling _very_ unsure of herself.

"I did the right thing." Cat assures herself "I'm going to figure this out. Lacey? I love you more than anything in the world, you know that don't you? I'm going to work my ass off to give you the life that you deserve and more. The two of us, we're going to be fine. We've got each other and that's all we need."

The baby yawns and extends her arms. Cat extends her index finger, brushing it over her daughter's palm and as soon as Lacey feels it, she clenches her fist around her mother's finger and holds on tight. Cat's chest becomes warm and her heart swells with joy; all the love she extends to her little girl is always returned, just not in the most obvious of ways. She's taking this as an 'I know you love me, Mommy. I love you too'.

So screw it if the situation isn't ideal. Screw it if it's not the 'normal' or 'proper' way to raise a child by today's standards. She loves her daughter more than words can describe and would do absolutely anything for her, which is more than can be said for some parents as unfortunate as that may be.

"Who's my Little Lacey Bug?" Cat chuckles, moving the baby's hand back and forth as she moves her finger "Is it you? I think it's you."

When times get hard and she starts to doubt herself, all she needs to do is look at this little girl right here and she can be back on track almost instantly. Alacia Avery Valentine is the light of her world and the center of her universe now, and she doesn't want to think about what life would be like if she wasn't here.

"I love you, Alacia." Cat kisses the baby's forehead "I always will, that will never _ever_ change."


	34. Chapter 34

Working three jobs for eighteen hours a day, six days a week for close to nine months straight and then having the ability to stay home and do nothing except care for a baby (which granted, did take up _a lot_ of time and energy) was odd to Cat. She figures by the time she actually adjusts to the more easy-goingness of it all, it will be time for her to go back to work.

To say the apartment they live in is small would be quite generous, Cat probably had high school classrooms that were larger. When the baby is asleep, Cat's only options are to really clean, watch TV, or sleep herself. Unless she chooses to finally hook up the baby monitor and go downstairs to talk to Rebecca and George for a little while, but she's still not sure if she's comfortable with that yet. It may only be a few stairs down into the bakery, but she doesn't like the idea of the baby being unattended.

"I think you and I need to get out of the house, Miss Alacia..." Cat sighs

The two of them are laying on the floor, sprawled out on the rug between Cat's bed and the couch. Lacey is laying on her back on a blanket, still mesmerized by all of her surroundings.

"Whatcha lookin' at, baby girl?" Cat chuckles, brushing a strand of bright red hair behind her ear "There's not much in here."

The sound of her voice catches the baby's attention and Lacey turns her head towards it.

"Hi Lacey." Cat smiles, moving her face closer to her daughter's "I love you."

She plants a kiss in the middle of the baby's forehead and then keeps her face at eye level. When Lacey realizes that it's Mommy that is the one talking to her, a smile spreads across her face.

"Look at you." Cat gasps "You're smiling at me!"

She knows that right now, in the first few weeks, it's only a reflex. The smile won't mean anything until she's a few months older, but Cat finds herself tearing up anyway.

"You're the most precious, beautiful thing." She whispers to her daughter

She still wakes up every day amazed that this little girl is hers, that she made a human life. Granted, she had a little help, but she doesn't like to think about that.

"God, I really need to get out..." Cat sighs, brushing away her tears "Where do you want to go today, Lacey? Should we go to the store and get you some more diapers? That's not really up for debate, we need to do that. But maybe we can see if Aunt Jade wants to meet us for lunch somewhere, how does that sound?"

Lacey has absolutely no idea what her mother is saying to her, nor does she understand. But she lets out the same kind of coo that she normally does when she's content, so Cat takes it as a sign of agreement.

* * *

"You just get more and more precious every time I see you, Miss Lacey." Jade grins, tickling the baby's tummy

"This is weird." Cat laughs

"What's weird?"

"Seeing Jade West show not only emotion towards something, but calling a baby precious in a goofy voice."

"Contrary to popular belief, I _do_ have a heart." Jade tells her "Especially when it comes to my goddaughter."

"I know." Cat smiles "I know."

The two women are sitting in the very same café they had been close to nine months ago when Cat first revealed to her friends that she was pregnant. They're not at their normal booth, someone had taken it just before they arrived, but instead sit at a table in the middle of the small restaurant. Jade holds Lacey while they wait for their food to be delivered.

"So is your head ready to explode yet?" Jade asks her friend as Lacey grabs on tight to her index finger

"Only a little..." Cat sighs "I mean, as difficult as my pregnancy was, I expected her to be much more difficult than she is. But she's a relatively laid-back baby, as long as she isn't pissed off. And thankfully she doesn't get pissed off very easily. It's just so much harder doing it on my own than I thought it was going to be."

"How many times do we have to tell you you're not on your own?"

"You know what I mean." Cat sighs "I just don't understand how anyone could _not_ want her."

"Yeah, me either..." Jade agrees

However, she had a feeling if Robbie Shapiro was actually ever introduced to his daughter he wouldn't act nearly as cold as Cat thinks he would. But this isn't Jade's child to raise, nor is it really her place to tell her friend how to raise her daughter. So she keeps her thoughts to herself.

"Do I send a birth announcement to my parents?" Cat asks

"If I were you I wouldn't." Jade tells her "Then again, I hold grudges. So I'm not really sure if I'm the most qualified person to ask."

"I was never one for holding grudges until now." Cat admits

"I know, and that's so unlike you."

"I'm a mommy now." Cat reminds her "I need to look out for my kid and protect her from anyone who might try to hurt her in anyway."

Lacey begins to fuss in Jade's arms and her godmother tries bouncing her lightly to calm her down, but has no success.

"Come on, kid. I just got you, don't get fussy now."

"She's just hungry." Cat laughs, reaching into Lacey's diaper bag and pulling out a bottle and burp rag "You can feed her if you want, or I can do it."

"I want my Lacey time." Jade smiles, taking the bottle from Cat "I can do it."


	35. Chapter 35

"Alright...only 1,125 a month..." Cat sighs "That's not terrible. It could be a lot worse."

Because she had been working practically all day and using every bit of her spare time she had while she was still pregnant preparing for the baby's arrival, looking into daycare had fallen to the bottom of Cat's to do list. But now, with the day she would be going back to work quickly approaching, she needs to figure out who will be caring for Alacia while she's working. Right now she really wishes she still had her parents around, in theory they would be more than willing to help her out. But no, apparently she didn't know her parents as well as she thought she did.

The more research she does, the more Cat discovers just how expensive childcare really is. It's also close to impossible to find just a _basic_ childcare facility. Lacey is a _newborn_ , Cat could honestly care less what the daycare's curriculum looks like. She doesn't care if Lacey is fluent in three languages, if she can swim, or if she's toilet trained by the time she's a year old. All Cat cares about is that someone responsible and trustworthy is taking care of her baby, and that she's in a safe environment.

But just as daycare is expensive, so is taking care of the actual child. With Lacey growing more and more each day, Cat can't afford to be spending almost her entire paycheck every week on daycare. There's more important things to spend it on, like diapers, formula, baby clothes, doctor's bills, rent, and you know, _food_. More and more, it's looking like Cat will have to move away from the larger daycare facilities and start looking into smaller, independently run ones. It doesn't matter to her, as long as Lacey is one hundred percent safe and taken care of.

"Okay, that's enough for tonight..." Cat says, shutting her laptop "I'm tired of staring at that screen, aren't you?"

Lacey yawns and stretches her arms up above her head, nuzzling her head into her mother's chest.

"Oh baby, you're not tired yet are you?" Cat asks, picking up her phone to check the time "It's not even seven yet."

The sooner Lacey falls asleep, the sooner she will wake up again. And the less sleep Cat will get in total.

"Let's get you your dinner..." Cat tells her, standing up from her chair at the small kitchen table

She carries Lacey over to her crib and sets her down inside so she has both hands available to make the bottle. The second she is placed down, the baby begins to fuss.

"Oh Alacia..." Cat coos, walking back to the kitchen "Hang in there, baby girl. Mommy will be right back."

For some reason at this point in time, Cat finds herself thinking about how much easier it would be if she had someone else here to help her all the time. And not like one of her friends who will occasionally stop in to check up on them from time to time. Like someone who was always here twenty-four seven and could be the third and fourth hands that she was constantly wishing that she had.

 _Someone like the baby's father_.

"No." Cat says out loud to herself "No. You don't need him. You're doing just fine without him."

She needs to focus on more important things right now, like the baby fussing just a few feet away from her. That baby is her world, she's all that she needs to be concerned about.

Now at two and a half weeks old, Lacey drinks three ounces of baby formula at a time. Having run out of the sample bottles she had been sent home from the hospital with Cat has become quite skilled at making the formula herself, sometimes even one handed if necessary. Fill the baby bottle with the purified water up to the appropriate line, and then add one scoop of formula per two ounces of water (that's a scoop and a half this time around for those of you keeping track at home).

"Just a second, Lacey." Cat tells her daughter as she screws the cap onto the bottle and shakes it to mix in the powdered formula "Almost done, hang on."

She grabs a burp rag off of the counter and returns to the baby, picking her up and resting her in the crook of her arm.

"Shhhh..." She tries to comfort the baby "Honey, you can't drink the milk if got your mouth open screamin'."

After about a minute of being back in her mother's arms, Lacey is calm again and the apartment is quiet except for the soft whir of the ceiling fan.

"There we go..." Cat smiles, slipping the rubber nipple into the baby's mouth "That's better, isn't it?"

As Lacey begins to eat, Cat walks across the room and sits down on her bed. The remote is nearby and she pushes the power button with her foot, bringing the TV at the foot of her bed to life.

"What are we watching tonight, Lace?" Cat sighs "More Friends? Or maybe we could try something on HGTV again tonight. Or I suppose I could act like an actual adult and watch the news and follow it up with a sitcom that is still actually making new episodes. Just wait, in a few months we'll be able to watch Uncle Beck on TV, how cool will that be? I'm totally talking to myself right now..."

Lacey is only half conscious, the comfort of being in her mothers arms and a slowly filling belly beginning to lull her to sleep.

"Annnnnnd you're falling asleep. Looks like the schedule is going to be thrown off tonight, isn't it? You're lucky you're cute." Cat kisses Lacey's forehead "Goodnight, Bug. I love you."


	36. Chapter 36

"It's just so weird not having anything to do or anywhere to be." Cat admits "I was going going going for nine months straight and now I'm just not."

"Yeah I know." Tori tells her "I'm honestly surprised that you never ended up in the hospital."

"So am I." Cat sighs

The two women are sitting on the floor in Tori and Andre's apartment, surrounded by the quizzes Tori's students took earlier in the day and she had to bring home with her to grade. They're multiple choice so with a key they're not that hard to grade, and Cat was more than happy to receive an invitation out of her apartment to do something other than watch TV and take care of the baby.

Lacey is in her car seat in between her mother and her aunt, fast asleep.

"So do you think you're ready to go back to work then?" Tori asks

"No." Cat shakes her head "Sometimes it's nice not having anything to do. And I've grown so attached to having Lacey around me all the time, I really don't like the idea of not having her with me during the day."

"If only you could take her with you."

"Yeah, if only." Cat sighs "God dammit Tori, what class is this? I don't even know the answers to some of these!"

"AP Music Theory." Tori tells her

"I guess that explains it then, I never took that one." Cat shrugs "But from the looks of these quizzes I don't think I'd want to. The tests must be monsters."

Cat was never really all that into the theory part of music, she was more interested in the vocals classes.

"They don't actually take a lot of tests." Tori admits "It's a lot of papers and a lot of projects. I'm just required to give them quizzes every so often to make sure they're keeping up with the curriculum. It's pretty interesting. Most of them really enjoy it."

"I guess that makes it easier to teach."

"Oh for sure." Tori agrees "It's actually the easiest class of the day for me. They're all juniors and seniors."

"Do they still make all freshman take music composition?"

"Unfortunately." Tori nods "And I'm lucky enough to get to teach two sections of it."

"Got to love freshman." Cat chuckles "How many sections are there total?"

"Six. We each get two." Tori explains "I'm hoping next year they'll give me a vocals class. I prefer the hands on classes so much more than the lecture-based ones."

"I feel like most people at that school would."

Hollywood Arts was a school for talented and creative people, no student there would want to waste their time in a lecture when they could be creating something of their own. Both Cat and Tori knew this from their own experiences there. But graduation requirements and state curriculums have to come into paly at some point too.

"I hope she's at least semi-interested in the arts..." Cat admits, running a hand gently over the top of Lacey's head "Music and theatre made my life so much more enriched, I just want that for her."

"She's your daughter, of course she will be." Tori smiles down at the baby "It's in her blood."

"I don't want her to feel like she has to, though."

"Cat." Tori sighs "She can't even sit up. I think you have a while before you need to worry about it."

"Yeah, you're right."

Lacey stirs a bit and is looking like she might start to fuss, so Cat quickly grabs her pacifier out of the nearby diaper bag and pops it into the baby's mouth before any trouble can ensue.

"Oh gorgeous wife of mine!" Andre announces as he opens the door and steps into the apartment "I'm home!"

"I'm not your wife, but I'm flattered!" Cat calls out to him, laughing

"Oh." Andre chuckles, stepping into the living room "Hey Cat, didn't know you were here."

"I'm just being silly." Cat admits, going back to grading quizzes

"Hey baby." Tori grins, standing up and walking over to greet her husband "How was work?"

"I'm right where I need to be to get that promotion when it comes up." He tells her, plating a kiss on her lips "Give that a few months to work itself out and we can start looking for a _real_ house. One with a big yard and a pool."

"I can't wait." Tori smiles, kissing him again

"Still here..." Cat singsongs from her spot on the floor

"Sorry." Tori apologizes

"Nah, don't be." Cat smirks "Y'all are cute so it's okay."

"How's it goin' Lil' Red?" Andre asks, setting his bag down and shrugging off his jacket "Has the baby drove you insane yet?"

"No, not yet." Cat laughs "We're still doing okay."

"Hello there, Miss Alacia Avery..." Andre coos, walking over to the car seat and kneeling down to look at the baby "Do you care if I take her out?"

"Go ahead." Cat nods "Just be careful."

"Of course."

Andre gently slides his hands under the infant and lifts her out of the seat, cradling her in his arms.

"Watch her head." Cat warns

"I know, I've got her...Hi Lacey..." He smiles "You ready to start those piano lessons yet?"

"Andre she isn't even a month old." Cat chuckles

"You're never too young." Andre grins "Isn't that right, Lacey? Huh? Isn't it?"

"If she answers you, let me know."

"Come on kid..." Andre carries Lacey over to the small keyboard tucked in the corner of the living room

He sits down at the bench and turns it on, shifting Lacey so she's only resting in one arm while it warms up. Once the keyboard is ready to be played, Andre switches it into the grand piano mode and starts to play a soft, simple melody. Lacey, taking notice of the new noise, grins and curls her arms up to her chest.

"She likes it, Cat." Andre chuckles

"Of course she does." Cat smiles "She's my daughter."


	37. Chapter 37

_"Oh baby girl..." Cat frowns, cuddling Lacey to her chest "It's okay, you're fine. Mommy's got you."_

 _For whatever reason, the baby just will not stop crying. She's been changed, fed, changed again, sang to, bounced, rocked...nothing has worked. Right now, Cat has resorted to walking around the small apartment in circles, bouncing the baby gently in her arms, praying that soon she will tire herself out and just pass out fast asleep._

 _"She's still crying?" Robbie groans, appearing at the doorway from the living room into the bedroom "Seriously?"_

 _"Yeah..." Cat sighs, shifting Lacey's so a majority of her weight is on her other arm now_

 _"And you can't get her to stop?"_

 _"Don't you think if I knew how to make her stop, I would have by now?" Cat snaps "I'm not enjoying this any more than you are."_

 _"Don't use that tone with me..." Robbie warns her, walking into the kitchen and opening the refrigerator_

 _"This might not be so hard if you actually stepped up and helped for once!" Cat calls after him_

 _"Excuse me?" Robbie reappears in the living room again, carton of milk in his hand "You're the one who wanted to keep her so badly! You can't complain that it's hard work!"_

 _"I'm not complaining!" Cat rolls her eyes "I'm just saying...you're her father. I shouldn't be the only one taking care of her..."_

 _"Are you joking?" Robbie exclaims "You don't think I take care of her? Who is the one who works so there's money to feed her and buy her what she needs? Who put a ring on her mother's finger so she'll grow up in a 'proper' family unit?"_

 _"No one ever said you had to propose to me!" Cat shrieks "Oh my god, Robbie. You've never gotten up with her at night. Not at all, not even once, since we brought her home. I can count the number of times you've held her on one hand! You don't get home until one in the morning sometimes-"_

 _"Because I'm working!" Robbie yells "I'm working so we can afford to live in this apartment and take care of the baby!"_

 _"I've seen your show Robbie. Numerous times!" Cat reminds him "Remember that? I used to go once a week before she was born, we were always home by eleven on those nights. Always. Going out and partying after your show is not a job requirement. You just do it because you hate being here with us."_

 _"That's not true!" Robbie exclaims "How dare you accuse me of such a thing? I love you so fucking much it's not even funny, Cat! I proposed to you!"_

 _"Because I wouldn't get an abortion or consider giving her up for adoption." Cat reminds him "I wanted to keep her, so you felt obligated to propose to me because our parents were pressuring you to do so."_

 _"Not true." Robbie shakes his head "I proposed because I knew I would lose you if I didn't."_

 _By now, the sound of her parents yelling and arguing has only caused Lacey's screams to become louder and higher. Between the fact that its almost three in the morning, her fiancé yelling at her, and her daughter screaming at the top of her lungs, Cat doesn't know how much longer she can take any of this._

 _"Proposing because you don't want a baby and you can't think of any other way to get me to stay with you is not a good reason, Robbie..." Cat walks over to Lacey's empty car seat by the door and places her down in it_

 _"I never said I didn't want the baby..."_

 _"Are you kidding?" Cat she turns around to face him "You suggested I get an abortion, first of all. When I refused to do that, you suggested adoption and then pouted for nine months because I wouldn't do that either. And you don't even act like a father to your own daughter. You didn't need to say you didn't want the baby, Robbie. Your actions are proof enough."_

 _She pulls her engagement ring off of her ring finger and walks over to him. She grabs his hand and drops it in his palm, pushing his fingers closed around it._

 _"I want you to take that back until you can be sincere about your feelings..." Cat whispers "I'm going to take her to a hotel for the night, I'll come back tomorrow after you leave for work to grab enough of our belongings to last us a while."_

 _"Are you serious?" Robbie looks from the ring in his hands, into the eyes of his apparently now ex-fiancée_

 _"I've never been more serious." Cat nods_

 _As she turns away from him, Lacey's cries begin to grow louder and louder to the point where Cat can't take it anymore. She drops to her knees and her vision starts to become fuzzy._

Lacey draws in a deep breath and then begins screaming again, snapping Cat into reality. She bolts straight upright, and once she collects herself, realizes that the entire argument she had just had with Robbie had all been a dream.

"Oh my god." She rubs her face with her hands

The interaction felt just as painful in her imagination as it probably would have been in real life.

She climbs out of bed and makes her way across the apartment to retrieve her daughter from her crib.

"Good morning, gorgeous girl." She coos, picking Lacey up and placing her on the changing table attached to her crib "Let's get you changed, how does that sound?"

After changing the baby's diaper and re-dressing her in a pink onesie and matching leggings, Cat grabs a bottle of formula from the kitchen and heads back to bed with Lacey in tow.

"I know I tell you a lot, but something just happened to make me want to tell you a million times more." Cat sighs "I love you more than anything else in the universe, Alacia Avery. And I'm so happy that I'm your mommy."

Cat's phone buzzes on her dresser next to her bed, but when she looks at the screen it's not the text message her eyes land on. It's the date.

"March eighteenth." Cat says, looking down at the baby drinking her bottle in her arms "It's March eighteenth, Lacey! You're a month old today! We made it a whole month!"

Four weeks...Twenty-eight days...a whole month since Lacey had been born and since Cat had become a mom. They're both still alive, and they're both still doing fine.

"Take that, Mom..." Cat chuckles to herself "Maybe I really can do this on my own."


	38. Chapter 38

"I'm going to miss you a lot tomorrow." Cat sighs as Lacey holds tight to her index finger "Like, so much it's not even funny."

Tomorrow, Cat's six weeks of maternity leave from Macy's will be up, and she'll have to clock into work at nine am if she wants to keep her job there. And of the two, Macy's is the job she needs to keep. They pay her way more than Rosie's does. Thankfully, she still has another two weeks off from the diner, so she won't have to be away from her baby as long as she will have to be once she's working both jobs again.

She found what seems to be, in her eyes, the perfect childcare facility for Lacey. It's a small independent company, run out of a house in a safe Los Angeles subdivision. Although, the house is used strictly for childcare and no one lives there. The whole point is that they cater to the needs of single parents raising children on their own without a co-parent, so they were willing to work with Cat's later hours that she'll be working once she goes back to Rosie's. Everyone who works there has raised or is raising children of their own, and when Cat took Lacey to visit they all seemed incredibly welcoming and kind.

But just because Lacey will be in good hands, doesn't mean leaving her will be any easier. Which is why Cat is making sure that she gets all of the extra cuddles that she can tonight before they both go to bed.

"At least I'm not waking up at 4:30 like I used to." Cat says "That wouldn't be enjoyable for either one of us."

Even though there are some days when Lacey is screaming at four o'clock in the morning because she wants food, but they both have the ability to fall asleep afterwards.

It's Sunday, and the two of them had spent the day over at Tori and Andre's apartment hanging out with Cat's friends. Of course, Cat had barely spent any time with her daughter because her friends wanted to hold her, which was fair. She spends all day everyday with Lacey and they only see her a few times a week. Beck had posted an adorable picture of her fast asleep on his chest with the caption 'Lazy Sundays with my goddaughter', which probably made the ovaries of all of his female teenage followers explode.

She had to set some social media rules with her friends when it came to posting pictures of the baby. Because all of them are still following and followed by Robbie, Cat and Lacey are not allowed to be pictured together, nor is Lacey's full name allowed to be posted either. They can't mention that Lacey is Cat's daughter, or that Cat has a child. Anything that could link Robbie to the baby isn't allowed. Of course, the odds of him actually seeing anything they post and putting two and two together aren't high, but Cat still wants to be cautious anyway. Especially because Beck will become a household name in a few months when his TV show airs, and the things he posts will be broadcasted to a larger audience.

But the comment people have left on Beck's picture prove exactly what Cat already knew to be true: her daughter is adorable and it's not hard to fall in love with her.

"Big yawn!" Cat smiles as Lacey lets out a yawn almost impossible for someone that size to create "Time for a bedtime bottle huh?"

She takes the baby over to her crib and sets her down, and goes to the kitchen to make a bottle, her heart heavy knowing that they'll be apart for a majority of the day tomorrow.

* * *

"You miss her already, don't you?" A co-worker of Cat's smiles as the two of them stand at a register in the woman's department, waiting for customers to approach with their purchases

"Like crazy." Cat nods "Is it that obvious?"

"Yeah." The other woman laughs "I can see it in your face."

"I'm just so used to spending all day, every day with her..." Cat admits "It's weird to think that someone else is taking care of her."

"I'm sure it will get easier with time."

Cat sure hopes that's true, because she clocked in at 8:52 and now at 9:48 she already wants to rush back to the daycare and get her baby. And she still has to be here for another seven hours almost.

She tries to busy herself with work, returning merchandise to the shelves when the register isn't busy or refolding the clothing that is on display, but the minutes just drag by and she doesn't know if she'll even be able to make it to her 1:30 lunch break, let alone 5:00 when it's time for her to leave. She just can't stop think about Lacey. Is she okay? They'd call her if there was a problem, wouldn't they? Does she realize that her mommy isn't there? Does she miss her? She wants to call and check-in at lunch, but she also doesn't want to be _that_ mom.

A year ago, Cat had been in class listening to some boring lecture she felt that as a senior about to go out into a the real world she honestly didn't need to hear. All she was concerned about was getting back to her apartment so she could pack for her spring break trip to Myrtle Beach with Robbie. Now look at her. She's a working adult who wants nothing more than to be at home cuddling with her baby. It's crazy.

She ducks behind a clothing rack and checks her cell phone for the time.

11:45.

Only five hours and fifteen minutes left to go.


	39. Chapter 39

"Instructions in English, would that seriously be too much to ask for?" Beck sighs, turning the piece of paper over in his hands

"Apparently so." Andre chuckles "Maybe there's some in the box somewhere."

"Yeah, I doubt that."

"It's just a baby swing." Andre reminds his friend "How hard could it be?"

"I guess we'll find out."

"Thank you for helping me, boys." Cat smiles "Lacey and I appreciate it."

"Happy to help." Beck nods

"Yeah." Andre agrees "Always."

"Let's see if they're still saying that in a few minutes when the baby swing is kicking their ass." Jade laughs

"We'll be able to figure it out." Beck assures her "Just you wait and see."

"That's what you said about the crib." Jade reminds him "And how long did it take you to put that together? Right. Like two hours."

"Okay, that crib..." Beck gestures to Lacey's crib in the corner of the apartment "Is a fucking monster. There were like a million pieces."

"And you have no idea how much I appreciated you doing that for me Beck." Cat laughs "Could you have imagined what it would have been like if it had been me putting that together instead of you?"

"It would probably _still_ be in pieces."

"Exactly."

"Um...hey Cat?" Tori calls from the kitchen

"What's up?"

"Does it matter _which_ of these bottles I grab?" Tori asks "Some of them are different sizes."

"Nope." Cat shakes her head "You're going to put the same amount of liquid in whichever one you pick."

"Right, okay." Tori nods, staring at the plethora of baby bottles in Cat's cabinet

All of them either hold nine ounces of formula or four, with the exception of two that can hold five and the one that holds eight. A majority of them are made of the standard clear plastic, but there are a select few that are pink as well. Tori selects a pink four ounce one and begins making the bottle like Cat had instructed her to just a few short minutes before.

"You said she does four ounces now right?"

"Right." Cat confirms "So she needs two scoops of the baby formula."

"Got it."

That part is relatively easy. Four ounces of nursery water, which is really just purified water that is sold in the baby department, plus two scoops of formula all mixed up together equals one meal for Lacey.

"Don't forget to heat it up!" Cat adds

"Oh okay..." Tori responds "Do I just put it in the microwave then?"

"No!" Cat exclaims "Sorry, no. Hang on. I'm coming."

Confused, Tori waits for her friend to come and aid her.

"You can't put a bottle in the microwave because it will make the milk _too_ hot and it could burn her mouth." Cat explains, taking the bottle from Tori "That's why I use this thing."

"What is that?"

"A bottle warmer." Cat smiles "Best twenty five dollars I ever spent. You just pop the bottle in here, adjust the height a little bit, turn it on and in ninety seconds you've got yourself an appropriately warmed bottle."

"Ninety seconds?"

"Ninety seconds." Cat winks "Like I said, the best twenty five dollars I've ever spent."

The contraption on the counter starts beeping, signaling that the bottle has been warmed adequately. Cat grabs it, shakes it a little, and then hands it to Tori. Once the bottle warmer has been turned off, both women make their way back to the couch where Jade is sitting with Lacey.

"Alright Jade..." Tori grins, laying a pink burp rag over her shoulder and extending her arms "My turn. Gimme baby."

"Fine." Jade sighs, gently passing Lacey to Tori "I want her back when you're done though."

"We'll see." Tori smirks

She adjusts Lacey carefully in her arms, then slips the bottle into the baby's mouth so she can eat.

"You guys just like holding her and cuddling her when she's well behaved." Cat laughs, shaking her head "As soon as she starts screaming I get the 'here Cat, take your kid back'."

"That's the perk of being an aunt and not a mom." Tori shrugs "You get to pick when you want to be feeding, cuddling, or changing. If you're not feeling it at that moment you can just give 'em back."

"I'll remember that when you have kids one day." Cat teases her

" _If_ I ever have kids one day." Tori says flatly, looking up at her husband "Andre."

"I can't win." Andre sighs, looking from Tori to Beck "Let's work on a real house before we work on a baby, okay?"

"Fine." Tori says, looking back down at Lacey "Looks like you'll just have to be my baby fix for a little while, Lacey baby."

"She's going to have to be _everybody's_ baby fix until one of you two has one." Cat tells her friends "Because you're not getting another one out of me for a _very_ long time."

"You'd want to have another one?"

"Sure." Cat nods readjusting the sock on Lacey's foot that the baby was close to kicking off "I want a big family. But I want it with a man who also wants the same thing and is going to be present and one hundred percent dedicated to his children, you know? And it's going to take me a while to find that. I mean, it's not like I can just marry the next man I meet. I have another little girl who I have to think about now, I'm not the center of my own universe anymore. Every decision I make affects her life now too. I have to be responsible about my choices."

"This just got real deep, real fast." Andre says

"Sorry." Cat chuckles "It's just...it's the truth, you know?"

"Yeah." Jade places a hand on Cat's shoulder "We know."

"Okay." She stands up "So that's over. Boys, how much longer do you think you'll need on that swing?"

"Maybe another ten or fifteen minutes?" Beck shrugs "Give or take?"

"We get Lacey cuddles when we're done, right?" Andre asks

"Of course. If you can get your wife to give her up." Cat smiles "I'm going to order a pizza. Do we want Leonardo's or Hollywood Pies?"

"Uh Leonardo's, duh." Jade responds "Margarita pizza with extra cheese and a side of garlic knots."

The exact same thing they used to order when they were younger and would have sleepovers in high school. It was a small little hole in the wall pizza place Mr. Vega had found on his way home from work one night. All three girls loved it. And Beck and Andre never really understood what the big deal was, until they were forced to try it. Now it's their favorite too.

"Right." Cat laughs "Our usual."


	40. Chapter 40

Weeks pass and eventually Cat falls back into almost the same routine that she held while she was pregnant. Only now she's minus Jet Vroom and plus an infant. It killed her returning to work at Rosie's. She could barely stand being away from Lacey when she was working a normal day at Macy's, add the restaurant on top of that and it's another four whole hours away from her baby.

The first day that she went back to Rosie's her heart dropped into her stomach when she saw Lacey's birth announcement tacked up on the employee bulletin board by the hooks where they keep their jackets and purses. She felt so guilty leaving her little girl with almost strangers to care for her. She felt even more guilty when she went to pick the baby up that night and she was already fast asleep in her car seat for the night. Cat had only seen her awake for a total of about ninety minutes that day, and she felt awful for it. So at that point, she decided that she would no longer work weekends. She still needed the income from both jobs, but she needed time with her baby too, while the baby was still a baby.

There's nothing she loves more than waking up on a Saturday morning and laying in bed with Lacey on her chest, watching TV together. She loves snuggling the baby and holding her close to her, she feels their bond grow stronger. Jade and Tori say that every day, Lacey looks more and more like her, and Cat knows that eventually she'll start acting like her too. She doesn't have any other parental figures around to influence her. The thought of having a little mini me both excites her and terrifies her at the same time. But then again, so does just being a parent in general.

"So what should we do today, Lacey Bug?" Cat asks the now three month-old baby, rubbing her back gently "I've got some laundry to do, so we're gonna have to go down to the basement for a little bit, and then you should probably have some tummy time and by that time in theory it should be time for your nap...but what should we do this afternoon, huh? Should we call up your aunts and uncles and see if their busy?"

It's almost May, so the weather is getting warmer, but it's not yet warm enough to go swimming. Not that Cat would feel comfortable taking a three month-old anywhere near a pool or to a beach anyway. They could always go to the boardwalk, or maybe out to dinner or to a park or something. But the first step that Cat needs to take is to get up out of bed and get them both dressed. Lacey has already been feed and should be good for a few hours, but Cat should probably find some food for herself too.

"I don't know about you, but I'm feeling that new outfit we just bought you the other day." Cat says to Lacey "The one with the flowers? What do you think, babe? You think it's a good idea too? Awesome!"

* * *

"Here we go!" Beck smiles, rolling over on the ground to demonstrate for Lacey "Rolllllllll over!"

Lacey is laying on a blanket in the middle of Jade's apartment, on her stomach. She's less than pleased about it and would certainly prefer to be on her back, so her Uncle Beck decided to lay down with her and try to show her how to roll over so she's more comfortable. He's not really having much luck, and Lacey usually ends up frustrated and crying.

"Come on, kid. Don't be like that." Beck sighs "It's easy! See?"

"She's just frustrated because she can't do it." Cat tells him, bending down to flip the baby over "She wants to flip herself over, she just doesn't understand what she has to do in order to do so. That's why she's so pissed off."

"Well the more you do it, the easier it'll get." Beck coos, playing with Lacey's hand

"How often does she have to do that?" Tori asks

"Tummy time? I usually try to get her to do it for at least twenty minutes a day." Cat tells her "She already did it this morning, so that's probably why she's not cooperating. I don't know how long they have her do it at daycare though, or if they have her do it at all."

"You should figure that out."

"Yeah, I should." Cat agrees "Whatcha doin', Lace? Who's playing with you? Is that Uncle Beck?"

"It sure is!" Beck responds for Lacey in a baby voice "Uncle Beck is my favorite uncle!"

"Hey!" Andre exclaims "I could be her favorite uncle, you don't know!"

"Actually, I do know." Beck chuckles "She told me herself."

"Did she now?"

"She did."

"When?"

"Like twenty minutes ago, when you were in the bathroom." Beck smirks "She told me when you weren't around because she knows your feelings are sensitive."

"You're both children." Jade scoffs "Do you realize that?"

"Yeah I know." Beck nods "I'm eight, he's five."

"Try switching that around." Andre laughs "I'm way more mature than you are."

"No way!"

"Shhhh...don't yell in front of the baby, please." Cat steps over Beck and picks Lacey up "She'll start crying and then no one is happy."

"I would like to vote Cat Valentine as most mature of them all." Andre raises his hand

"Oh shut up." Cat smirks, rolling her eyes

"It's true though."

"I guess." She shrugs "But I didn't really get much of a choice. Not that I mind it though, this little one is worth it."

She lifts Lacey up so they're face to face and kisses the tip of the baby's nose.

"I love you, Lacey."


	41. Chapter 41

"All clean!" Cat smiles, dumping a cup of water on top of her daughter's head "All clean!"

Lacey smiles and kicks her legs in her bath seat, splashing water up and out of the tub.

"Uh oh." Cat gasps "Are you making a mess?"

Lacey smiles up at her mother, taking the rubber duck she had been holding and trying to stick it in her mouth.

"Is Mr. Duck yummy?" Cat chuckles "Come on, don't eat Mr. Duck. What did he ever do to you?"

Still infatuated by the water, Lacey continues to giggle and splash around.

"Okay, but just a few more minutes." Cat tells the three month-old "We don't want you to get all pruney."

It's unbelievable to Cat just how much her baby has grown in the past three months. She feels like it was only yesterday she was finding out she was pregnant, sitting in the tiny bathroom of that New York apartment holding the positive pregnancy test, and now Lacey is growing bigger and bigger by the day. She's only waking up once or twice a night now instead of four or five, and every once and a while she'll start babbling to herself, making Cat's heart absolutely melt. She also grins from ear to ear every time she lays eyes on her Mommy, which makes Cat's day every single time she does it. It's moments like that that make all of the hard work Cat has had to put in, all of the sleep deprivation and stress that she's gone through, over the past year entirely worth it.

There's nothing she loves more in this universe than Alacia Avery Valentine.

"Okay, cutie pie..." Cat removes the drain stopper from the bottom of the bathtub "Bath time is done for tonight."

Not that she would mind letting her stay in an extra few minutes and play, but it's getting late and Lacey needs to go to bed soon.

The baby looks up at her mother with the most heartbroken pout on her face, as if to beg for a little extra time in the water. She enjoys bath time a lot, actually. It's the only time she can access toys on her own because of the bath seat she lays in.

"I know, baby. I know you want to play." Cat tells her "But tomorrow is Sunday so Mommy will be home again and we can play _all day_. How does that sound?"

Of course, Lacey has no idea how it sounds because she has no idea what her mother is saying, she's too little to understand. All she knows is that she's no longer surrounded by water and she's cold.

"C'mere." Cat lifts the baby out of her seat and wraps her in the fuzzy hooded towel she had waiting for her "There we go, nice and warm again!"

She carries the baby out of the bathroom and across the main part of the apartment, laying her down on the changing table attached to her crib. Once she's dried off and diapered, she cradles her in her arms and bends down to go through the drawer of clothes beneath.

"I think polka dots will work nicely tonight, don't you?" Cat asks the baby "Not like you really get much of a say though, you don't even understand what I'm saying."

She dresses Lacey in a white onesie under a pair of light blue pair of footed pajamas covered in white polka dots.

"Adorable." She presses a kiss to the baby's forehead and then picks her up again "Now how about some food?"

She already poured the water for Lacey's bottle ahead of time, so all she has to do now is scoop the appropriate amount of formula in and shake it up. Over the past three months, Cat has amazed herself with the amount of daily tasks she has managed successfully achieve one-handed. Cooking, cleaning, preparing bottles, making the bed, you name it and she can probably get it done while holding the baby at the same time.

After shaking the bottle to combine the water and formula, then warming it in the bottle warmer for a minute and a half, Cat takes both the bottle and the baby over to the couch and sits down, propping her feet up on the foot rest and turning on the TV.

"Let's see..." Cat sighs, scanning through the channel guide on the screen "We've got Late Night, The Tonight Show, Friends, Big Bang Theory, Cops, House Hunters...what are we feeling tonight, Lace?"

The baby looks up at her mother with a confused look, obviously not understanding what is going on.

"HGTV it is." Cat chuckles, arrowing down to the appropriate channel and turning on House Hunters

Settling herself back into the couch, which is actually a futon Andre had given her when her moved out of his dorm and no longer had any use for it, Cat slips the bottle into the baby's mouth and she begins to drink. As Lacey's eyelids grow heavy with fatigue and slowly start to close, Cat's mind begins to wander.

It was about a year ago that she left New York City to return home to Los Angeles; a year since her life was completely turned upside down, but for the better. She has Lacey now, and she wouldn't want her life to be any other way than how it is now. But she still can't help but wonder what it would be like if she and Robbie had stayed together. They probably would have figured out that they wanted different things from their futures by now, and they'd more than likely be broken up. But how long would it have taken for them to figure that out? A few days, weeks, or months? Would they have gotten engaged first before they broke it off? Would she have stayed in New York then, or would she have still come home? How long would it have taken them both to move on? All questions she'll never know the answer to, but not that she would want to anyway. If she had gotten the answers, then she wouldn't have gotten Lacey. And she can't bare to imagine what life would be like without Lacey.

She loves her daughter more than anything else, and nothing else matters to her anymore but taking care of her and making sure she's safe and loving her.


	42. Chapter 42

"Wow!" Cat grins, dangling the plastic keys in front of Lacey's face "Wow, look at those keys!"

Lacey coos and reaches her hands up, trying to grab the toy from her mother. After a few attempts Cat lets the baby take the keys from her, and watches as the baby brings them closer to her face and stares at them with wonder.

"Stop growing, baby girl." Cat groans "Please just stay little forever, okay? No crawling, no teething, no walking, no school, and _definitely_ no boys. Just stay Mommy's little girl forever."

Much to the young mother's dismay, her baby is growing bigger and bigger every day. She's close to being twice her birth weight, her eyesight is improving, and her neck muscles have gotten so much stronger. And while it's amazing to watch Lacey grow and be fascinated by the new world she's discovering, Cat can't help but feel like it was only yesterday that she was freaking out about bringing her home from the hospital. She knew nothing about babies; she still feels clueless, just not as much.

Lacey tosses the toy to the side and looks up and around the room. For a brief second, her eyes meet her mother's and a grin spreads across her face.

"Hi peanut." Cat smiles, tickling the baby's tummy "I love you."

She hopes that if Lacey had the ability to talk, she would respond with an 'I love you too, Mommy', but for now she can only wish on that.

Cat's phone starts buzzing on the dresser, so she scoops Lacey up in her arms and goes to answer it.

"Hi there." She picks up

"Hey." She hears Jade's voice on the other end of the phone "We're downstairs, can you let us up?"

"Sure. Be down in a sec." She says before hanging up "Come on, Lace. Let's go find your aunts and uncles."

She doesn't bother to lock the door, she'll only be gone for two minutes maximum and the only way someone would be able to get into the apartment would be to pass her on their way. Together, Cat and Lacey go down the flight of stairs to the back of the bakery, and head over to the back door.

"Hey friends." Cat smiles, opening the door "Come on in."

"There's my gorgeous goddaughter!" Jade coos, immediately taking Lacey from Cat as soon as she's entered the building "Hi, Lacey baby girl, how are you?"

Lacey smiles again as Jade kisses her forehead, and all five friends head back upstairs to the apartment.

"Um...hey Cat?" Tori says as they all move into the tiny space

"Yesssss?" Cat responds, going into the kitchen to double check everything that needs to be out already is

"Did you paint Lacey's toenails?"

"Oh..." Cat chuckles, turning over her shoulder to look at her daughter quickly before going back to what she was doing "Yeah."

"Why?"

"Why not?" She laughs "She's only a few months old, there's not much I can do with her. Might as well make her toes pretty."

"Only you."

"Only me." Cat nods "Okay, Beck. Andre. Come here please."

"We're coming, we're coming." Beck says, walking over to meet Cat in the kitchen with Andre right behind him

"There's two bottles here, you shouldn't need more than that." Cat points to the two baby bottles sitting on the counter "They've got the water already premeasured in them, all you have to do is add two scoops of formula per bottle when you make it. After you mix the formula, just pop it into here..."

She points to the bottle warmer and demonstrates how to turn it on and how it will beep when the bottle is done.

"Make sure to check that the nipple isn't clogged with powder, because then she won't be able to get anything out and she'll be pissed at you." She explains "She eats every four hours or so, if she's hungry she'll let you know. Diapers and wipes are by the changing table...any questions?"

Beck and Andre both shrug and exchange a look with one another.

They had both been more than willing to step up and babysit Lacey when Tori and Jade inquired about it. The two women wanted to take Cat out somewhere other than one of their apartments or work, since she had barely gotten any time to herself since Lacey had been born. Any time either of them had ever been around the baby, Cat was always within arms reach if they needed anything. This time they were on their own. They had each other, but they were on their own.

"I think we've got it..." Andre nods "You'll have your phone on you right?"

"Of course."

"We'll be fine." Beck assures her "She's in good hands."

"Alright, little lady..." Jade approaches her boyfriend and passes the baby off to him "Be good, okay? But not too good. We don't want Uncle Beck to think babies are a piece of cake and then suddenly want to have one."

Beck has to admit, seeing how good his girlfriend is with Lacey _has_ made him sort of want to have a baby. But not right now, of course. They're no where near ready.

"Bye bye pumpkin." Cat kisses the tip of her daughter's nose "Be good for your uncles, okay? I'm going to miss you so much, but I'll see you when I get back, okay? I love you!"

"I love you too, Mom!" Beck responds for Lacey "Now go have a god time!"

"Okay, baby." Cat smiles "Bye guys."

"Bye!"

The three women grab their purses and exit the apartment, Cat locking the deadbolt behind them.

"You seem so calm." Jade says as they make their way back downstairs

"And?" Cat raises an eyebrow at her

"We just left your baby with two idiots."

"I know." Cat laughs "I'm really good at hiding fear."

"So you are worried?"

"Yeah, maybe a little." She shrugs "But I trust them. Their her uncles. They'll take good care of her."


	43. Chapter 43

"Oh this is great." Cat smiles, relaxing back into the pedicure chair

Tori and Jade sit on either side of her, each in their own chairs, getting their nails done as well.

"Told you." Tori smirks "Sometimes you need a me day."

"Easier said than done." Cat reminds her "Oh, do you think they're okay?"

"Who? They guys?"

"Yeah." She nods "And Lacey...maybe I should just text them and-"

"Don't do it." Jade warns "I'll take your phone."

"Yeah, it's supposed to be a baby free afternoon, remember?" Tori adds "We've only been gone for half an hour."

"I know, but still."

"It's not any different than leaving her at daycare when you go to work."

"Yes it is."

No one wants to admit it, but all three women are thinking the same thing. Even though they both love Lacey to death, Beck and Andre are nowhere near as qualified to take care of a baby as a registered childcare worker. The idea of the two of them alone in Cat's apartment with a baby, not matter how amusing, is slightly concerning.

"They'll be fine." Jade assures her "They'll call if there's any problems and we're not that far away if there are."

"But there won't be." Tori assures her

"Right." Jade nods "Their her uncles, they'll be okay."

"I hope so."

It's not that Cat doesn't trust them, she does. Beck and Andre are two of her very closest friends and have been there for her whenever she has needed, especially in the past year or so. But she was very comfortable leaving her with trained daycare workers who have all raised children of their own.

"We should have left a camera in the apartment." Jade chuckles "Filmed the whole thing and sent it into one of those TV shows where you can win ten thousand dollars for having the funniest video."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?"

"Oh come on, you know they're going to panic the first time she cries. _You_ panicked the first time she cried." Jade laughs "I can see the youtube video now, 'Two Men and a Baby'. It would be hilarious...come on Cat. Stop worrying about them. They'll have it figured out after the first cry session. All three of them are just fine."

"I guess you're right..."

"Is this the color you wanted?" The woman doing Cat's pedicure asks, taking the bottle of nail polish from the tray

"Yes please." Cat nods

It's a soft lavender color, almost identical to the shade she had painted on Lacey's toes the night before.

"Aw, you're matching the baby." Tori grins "That's cute."

"Thanks." Cat blushes "I wish she would hold still long enough for me to do her fingernails, but she's always waving her arms around."

"Just do it while she sleeps." Jade suggests "Then she'll have no clue."

* * *

"She's crying!" Andre exclaims

"Really?" Beck gasps, holding Lacey out about a foot in front of him "I hadn't noticed!"

Lacey, face bright red and stained with tears, is screaming at the top of her lungs while Uncle Beck and Uncle Andre rush frantically around the apartment trying to figure out what to do.

"Shhh...you're okay, Lacey." Beck cradles the baby back in his arms and bounces her lightly "You're okay, Uncle Beck's got you."

"I don't think she's okay..."

"You try then." Beck hands the baby to Andre "Whatever I'm doing obviously isn't working."

"Um..." Andre hesitates "Lacey, does Mommy sing to you, do you like music?"

"Do you really think she's going to answer you?" Beck asks "Just sing to her already!"

"Okay, okay..." Andre sighs, rocking Lacey back and forth "There _are moments when you fall to the ground, But you are stronger than you feel you are now, You don't always have to speak so loud, no, Just be as you are_...this isn't working."

"I know." Beck groans "What do we do?"

"I don't know...wait do you smell that?"

"Smell what? Beck sniffs the air "Oh shit, yeah. What the hell is that?"

"It wasn't me!" Andre exclaims

"Wait!" Beck looks at his friend "It's her! Give me the baby."

Beck takes Lacey from Andre and carries her over to the changing table, laying her down and taking her leggings off so he can remove her diaper.

"Woah!" He exclaims "You're loaded kid!"

"Holy shit..." Andre walks over to stand next to Beck "Literally."

Beck cleans Lacey up and puts a fresh diaper on her, rebuttoning the bottom of her onesie and sliding her pants back on. The baby is calm again, all evidence of her tantrum erased except for the few stray tears still lingering in the corners of her eyes.

"There we go, junior." He smiles, picking the baby up again "All better."

"Man, we suck." Andre chuckles "We didn't even think to check the diaper."

"That's okay we're learning. Right Lace?"

Lacey yawns and nuzzles her head against Beck's chest, grabbing onto his shirt with her fist.

"I think she's gettin' tired, dude."

"Agreed."

There's the sound of a key turning in the lock on the door and both Beck and Andre turn around just in time to see Cat, Jade and Tori walk through the door.

"Hi baby!" Cat smiles, going straight to retrieve her daughter "I missed you so much!"

"She definitely missed you too." Beck tells her as he hands the baby back to her mother "Did you guys have fun?"

"We did." Jade smiles "Once we got her to stop worrying about you guys."

"We were fine." Andre says, exchanging a quick glance with Beck "We had a minor meltdown a few minutes ago over a diaper, but other than that she was a perfect little angel."

Which isn't a lie. Lacey was, and normally is, a relatively easy baby.

"I'm glad." Cat kisses the top of the baby's head "Oh, somebody looks sleepy."

"Yeah, she was starting to drift off when you walked in."

"I think it's time for pajamas and a bedtime bottle then." Cat says to the baby "Thank you for watching her, and thank you for forcing me out of the house."

"Anytime." Beck says "We get along great, don't we Lacey?"

"If you all get along so great, maybe we can go out for often then." Tori suggests

"Not too often, though." Cat adds "I'll miss her too much."


	44. Chapter 44

Just like any other city in the country, Los Angeles _loves_ their sports teams. So on a night when any kind of sporting event is going on it is expected that the area surrounding the arena will be absolutely packed with people, and so will any restaurant or bar that has any kind of TV at all that can tune into the game.

And tonight, Los Angeles is going absolutely _insane_.

The Giants and the Dodgers are playing each other at Dodger Stadium; the rivalry between the two teams, known as one of the biggest in the National League, is drawing more and more attention to the event than a normal game would. Not to mention, the Los Angeles Kings were making a run for the Stanley Cup at the Staples Center only about ten minutes away from the baseball stadium. Every sports bar and restaurant in Los Angeles is packed with screaming and cheering sports fans, all hoping for an LA victory. Every restaurant...except for Rosie's.

The diner doesn't have a single TV, so there's nowhere to watch either game unless someone was to use their phone to bring up the live broadcast. The only people who have wandered in on this particular night are those who have absolutely no interest in watching either game. Needless to say, only about three tables are occupied.

"How was everything?" Cat asks, clearing plates off of the only occupied table in her section

"Delicious as always." The woman smiles

"Can I get you anything else? Maybe some dessert?" She asks the family "We just took a couple of fresh apple pies out of the oven."

"Can we get pie?" The little boy at the table perks up

"You couldn't even finish your chicken nuggets." His mother laughs "You don't need any pie."

"I think we'll just take the check." The man, presumably husband to the woman and father to the little boy, says

"Okay." Cat nods "I'll be right back with that."

She was sort of hoping they would order dessert, waiting on the family would at least give her something to do. Working in food service is incredibly boring when there's nothing to do, and she still has another two hours of work left before her shift is over.

"Hey Lou?" She calls back to the cook as she walks behind the counter to ring up the family's order

"Yes Miss Caterina?" Lou calls back, obviously teasing her by using her full name

"What's the score of the baseball game?" She asks

Lou keeps his radio in the kitchen tuned into the sports station whenever a Los Angeles team is playing, but he is instructed to keep the volume low so it doesn't disrupt the customers. Which means Cat can't hear it either.

"5-4, Dodgers." Lou smiles "Kings are winning too."

"Awesome." Cat grins, ripping the paper check off of the machine and placing it inside the leather holder

She takes the check over to the family and then finishes collecting the rest of their dishes, carrying them back to the kitchen in order to give her customers time to pay.

"Do you want me to get something started for you?" Lou asks, glancing at the clock "We're not that busy, Bridget doesn't care."

Normally, she doesn't eat dinner at the diner. She just waits until she gets home after getting Lacey to bed and has a sandwhich or something,

"I'm not really that hungry yet." Cat shrugs, placing the tray of dirty dishes down in the bin marked 'to be washed' "I'll take a rain check if we stay not busy, though."

"Suit yourself."

By the time Cat returns to check on the family in her section, they've paid the check and just need Cat to run the credit card. She does and returns it to them with a smile and wishes them a good night. She busses off their table after they leave and tucks the five dollar bill they left as tip into the pocket of her apron. Not really sure what to do next, she walks over to the counter and takes a seat at one of the stools, resting her chin on her hand.

"Are you sure you don't want a burger or somethin'?" Lou asks

"I'm sure." Cat nods "Thank you, Lou."

She takes the bowl of single serving coffee creamers and begins building a pyramid out of them, praying that someone else comes in and is seated in her section. Not that she really minds getting paid to sit and do nothing, but she wishes she was somewhere else. Either at home cuddling with Lacey, or at the baseball game with Tori, Andre, Beck and Jade. Andre had been able to get them tickets through work, but because she was working Cat hadn't been able to tag along.

"Wow, we're not nearly as busy as we expected to be." Bridget appears in the doorway that leads to the back hallway

She normally stays in her office during operating hours, and Cat is surprised to see her.

"Baseball and hockey took all of our customers." One of the waiters tells her

"Yeah." Drew agrees "There's been maybe ten people in here since five o'clock."

"I see..." Bridget nods, walking over and sitting down at the counter next to Cat

"Can I get you anything to eat, Bridget?" Lou asks

"A chicken melt would be nice, thank you Lou."

"I'll have it ready for you in ten." He smiles

"Building something?"

"Huh?" Cat looks up "Oh, just passing the time until another customer comes in."

"I don't think we'll see anyone else tonight." Bridget admits "We'll be closed by the time the games are over."

"Maybe we could stay open late then." Cat suggests, then immediately regrets it

If she doesn't pick Lacey up by 10:00, the daycare workers will be at her throat. She can't work late tonight.

"No." Bridget shakes her head "Everyone will go home or to a bar. There's no use in staying open."

"Oh."

Thank god.

"Is your section empty?" Bridget asks

"Yeah." Cat tells her "My last customers just left."

"Why don't you go ahead and leave early tonight then."

"Really?"

"Why not." Bridget shrugs "I think we'll close early tonight anyways. Go ahead and go home to that baby of yours."

"Thank you so much." Cat grins, standing up and smoothing out her uniform

If it were appropriate for her to hug her boss, she would. But it's not. She's just thankful for some extra time with her baby.

"You're welcome." Bridget smiles "Just makes sure to give her lots of extra cuddles tonight."

"I will, don't worry."


	45. Chapter 45

"Someone's squirmy today, isn't she?" Tori smiles down at the baby she carries in her car seat "What's gotten into you, Lacey?"

Five month-old Alacia Valentine smiles up at her aunt, kicking her legs and giggling with excitement.

"You must just be all wound up because you figured out where we're going, huh?" She says as she pulls open the door to Rosie's diner "Do you wanna see Mommy?"

A couple times a month, during the summer when she isn't working, Tori will volunteer to take Lacey for the day while Cat is at work. She gets bonding time with Lacey, and Cat saves a little on daycare fees.

"Hi." The greeter smiles as they walk in "How many today?"

"Just us." Tori nods towards the baby

"Drew!" Cat exclaims from the back of the diner "Put them in my section! Please!"

"Right this way..." Drew chuckles, grabbing a menu and escorting them to a booth

Tori sits down in the booth, setting the diaper bag and car seat down next to her and pulling Lacey out to sit on her lap. She pulls open a few toys for Lacey, a teething ring and her favorite stuffed kitten, Mittens, then opens the menu to kill time. She orders the same thing every time she comes here, which is so often now she has it committed to memory.

"I'll be with you in like, two seconds." Cat promises, tapping the table with her free hand as she walks by, carrying a tray of food

"Take your time!" Tori calls after her "We don't have anywhere to be! Do we Lacey? Nope, we don't!"

Cat drops off the plates of food to a family a few tables away, tucks the tray under her arm, then starts making her way towards the booth where her friend and her daughter are waiting.

"Lacey bug!" Cat exclaims, making faces at the baby as she approaches the table

A grin spreads across Lacey's face as she recognizes her mother. She begins to kick her legs under the table and smack her hands against the surface, all out of excitement.

"How are you, baby girl?" Cat coos, picking the baby up off Tori's lap and resting her on her hip "I missed you today!"

"She's been so full of it today." Tori chuckles "It's almost like she knew we were coming to visit tonight. Didn't you, Lace?"

"It always makes my day whenever you guys drop in." Cat blows raspberries on the baby's cheek "Did she go down for her nap okay?"

"She had a hard time falling asleep, but once she was out, she was _out._ She slept for like four hours." Tori informs her

"Glad to hear you give other people hell besides me." Cat rests her forehead against Lacey's forehead "Are you hungry, baby? Hm?"

"I'm hungry..." Tori admits

"A grilled chicken sandwich, no mayonnaise, ketchup on the side with a side of onion rings?" Cat raises an eyebrow at her "I put it in a few minutes after you guys sat down."

"You know me too well..." Tori smirks

"You order the exact same thing, every single time." She laughs, handing Lacey back "I'll be back in a couple minutes, okay? I've got one other table I need to check up on and then I'll come sit for a little while."

"Okay. Bye Mommy!" Tori picks up Lacey's hand and waves goodbye

"Bye baby!" Cat waves

She turns and makes her way back behind the counter, setting down the tray she had been carrying and filling up a few glasses; an iced tea to bring back to Tori, and two Coca-colas to bring back to the couple at her other table.

"Here you go." She hands Tori the glass when she returns to the table "Food should be out in a few minutes."

"Thank you." Tori takes the glass and sets it down on the table "Here, take your baby. Sit down for a while and get off your feet."

"Gladly." Cat sighs, taking Lacey and sliding in across from Tori "Hi there, baby. I'm back."

She sits Lacey on the table in front of her. She picks up each of the baby's hands, alternating pressing a kiss to each one.

"How cute are you?" Cat coos "Huh? Huh? Super cute!"

"She really is..." Tori agrees "I'm trying to convince Andre to help me make one just like her."

"Good luck with that." Cat chuckles "They're a lot of work you know, it's not like just babysitting Lacey for a day and then giving her back. They're around all the time."

"Thanks Mom." Tori rolls her eyes

"I'm just looking out for you." Cat admits "Then again, you're married. And you have a stable job..."

"Hey." Tori grabs her friend's attention "You're doing so great on your own. Really. Everyone is so proud of you."

"Yeah, yeah." Cat rolls her eyes "You all keep saying that."

"We are." Tori assures her "You're raising a little human all on your own! And working your ass off to make it happen."

"Tell me about it..." Cat sighs "Gonna have to keep busting my ass if I ever want to get us out of that apartment. She's only been alive for five months and we're already running out of room."

"I'm sure you'll find a way to make it work."

"I hope I will." Cat nods "I've started looking at townhouses, I'm hoping I'll be able to move us into one in the next year or so...we can't stay in that shoebox. I love and appreciate George and Rebecca for letting us live there, but it's just too small."

"At least it's less to clean?" Tori tries to make her friend feel better, although in this situation she's not really sure if she can

"If anything it just makes it easier for clutter to pile up." Cat tells her, resting her forehead against Lacey's "Don't worry, baby girl. Mommy will get us out of there as soon as she possibly can."

Even though Cat knows that 'soon' is actually more than likely no time soon at all. Between daycare, food, diapers, insurance and all other living expenses, the amount of money from her paychecks that actually gets deposited into savings every month is significantly less than she intends. But she knows at this point, her and Lacey's wellbeing is more important than upgrading their living space. She'd much rather be doing okay and have a healthy baby in a small apartment than be broke and struggling with a starving baby in a townhouse.

"Whatever it takes, however long it takes, I'll get us out." Cat promises Lacey "I'd do _anything_ for you, Peanut. I love you so much."


	46. Chapter 46

"I know, I know. You hate me." Cat sighs "You'll thank me later when you're not sunburned."

Lacey fidgets in her stroller, whining as her mother tries to rub sunscreen onto her delicate skin. SPF 100 to be exact, Cat is not risking her little one getting sunburned today.

"Come on, Lacey. It's not so bad." Andre kneels down next to the stroller to look at the baby "Just a little bit more and you're all done."

Cat and Lacey, along with Andre, Tori, Jade, and Beck, are all lined up along Sunset Boulevard along with hundreds of other people waiting for the Fourth of July parade to start. Cat had always loved going when she was little, and had even managed to convince Jade to come with her a few of the years, and wanted her little girl to have the same fond childhood memories.

"Look." Cat pulls her hands away from her daughter and kisses her forehead "All done. See? That wasn't so bad!"

Lacey is wearing a denim romper that is covered in white polka dots. Her mother hand managed to get red, white, and blue flip flops on her before they left the apartment this morning, but she kicked them off in the car and refused to wear them after that point. The red star-shaped sunglasses are okay though, she actually likes that they make the sun not so bright. Her white sunhat isn't so bad either.

"Isn't she going to be hot?" Jade asks "Denim is pretty thick..."

"It's not real denim." Cat explains, standing up and pulling the shade up on Lacey's stroller "It's cotton printed to look like denim, I wouldn't have put her in it today if it was real."

People down the block start cheering and the five friends find themselves standing on their tiptoes to see over the crowd of people.

"I see a car!" Beck announces "This must be the start of it."

"I can't believe you roped me into coming to this stupid parade again." Jade groans "I'm an adult now."

"Aw come on Jade." Beck throws an arm around his girlfriend, pulling her close to him "You're here for your goddaughter and to enrich her experience."

"She doesn't even know what's going on!"

"I can't wait until you have kids and they beg you to take them to a parade." Tori chuckles

"I hate parades."

"We know." Cat, Beck, Tori and Andre all say in unison

The noise from the fire engines and police cars at the beginning of the parade hurts Lacey's ears and makes her cry out and extend her arms to Cat, just wanting to be held. After they pass, however, the little girl is more than content to sit in her stroller and watch the different floats and groups pass her by. She loves the music, she smiles and kicks her legs every time a marching band comes by, and she loves all the bright colors. Cat not only loves watching the parade herself, but watching her daughter enjoy it too. Even though she really doesn't have any clue as to what is going on, the grin on Lacey's face is absolutely priceless.

As the parade starts to wind down, Cat turns to Beck and Jade.

"I've got to get going if I want to beat the traffic out of here." She tells Jade

"Yeah, of course." Jade nods, taking Lacey's diaper bag from her "We've got her."

Macy's had given her the day off because of the holiday, but she hadn't been able to get the day off from Rosie's. Thankfully, she was able to get an afternoon shift instead of a night one, so she'll be around for the fireworks later. However, Lacey's daycare is also closed because if the holiday, so Jade and Beck had offered to take her to the BBQ at Jade's parents' house for the afternoon, and Cat will meet up with them later.

"Thank you so much again for taking her." Cat thanks her friends

"Are you kidding?" Jade laughs "You will never have to ask us twice, we adore her. It's no problem."

"Lacey, baby girl, Mommy's got to go now." Cat leans her head into the stroller and kisses her daughter goodbye "Be good for Aunt Jade and Uncle Beck, okay? I love you, I'll see you in a little bit."

* * *

A huge grin spreads across Alacia Avery Valentine's face and she begins to squeal and kick her legs the second she lays eyes on her mother that evening. Not that she doesn't love spending time with her aunts and uncles, but _no one_ can beat Mommy.

"Hi Peanut!" Cat smiles, taking her from Jade's mom and smothering the baby's face in kisses "I missed you _so_ much! Were you good?"

"She's been an angel." Jade's mother responds "She's gorgeous by the way, she looks just like you."

"Well thank you, I think." Cat blushes "And I'm glad to hear that you were behaved, baby girl."

"My mom was hogging the baby." Jade groans

"You see her all the time, Jade." Her mother tells her "This was the first time that I met her and will probably be the last."

"I can bring her around whenever you want, Mom." Cat chuckles "It's not like we live that far."

"Oh you weren't here." Mrs. Caldwell frowns "I forgot. Rick and I just started telling people today, but since Jade was the last one and now she's done with school and out of the house...we're going to retire to South Carolina."

"Oh." Cat is slightly surprised "Well that's good. Congratulations!"

"Thank you, we're very excited."

"I'll make sure you can see her again before you leave." Cat promises "And get me an address, I'll send pictures and Christmas cards."

She talks to Jade's mom for a little while longer before some more guests arrive and she goes to greet them. After that, Jade, Cat and Lacey make their way over to the circle of chairs where Beck, Tori, and Andre are sitting and join them. Lacey is gradually passed from person to person until she grows grouchy beyond belief and decides she just wants to stay with Cat for the rest of the evening. She is more than content to just rest her head on her mother's chest, not asleep but just close to Cat.

Around 9:00 the first of many fireworks gets shot up, illuminating the night sky, but scaring Lacey half to death and making her jump.

"Oh you're okay, sweetie." Cat kisses the top of her head and turns her around so she can see better "Just watch, they're pretty."

Lacey, however, is not convinced at all and continues to whine more and more with every explosion that occurs. Cat turns her around so the baby's head is resting up against her chest and begins rubbing her back gently, while also watching the fireworks up in the sky. Eventually, Lacey calms down and is more than content to just lay on her mother's chest and cuddle for the rest of the night until she drifts off to sleep.

"See?" Cat smiles "I told you, you're okay."


	47. Chapter 47

A loud noise echoes through the bakery and up to the apartment, startling Cat awake. She isn't sure what it was, but she knows it was nothing familiar. It wasn't a 'George was carrying too many baking pans at once and dropped them all' kind of noise, it was something big, something unusual.

Sitting up straight in bed, Cat rubs the sleep from her eyes and stops to listen for a moment, seeing if the noise will come again or if she had just imagined it. For a moment she wonders if it was thunder, but several minutes pass by and she doesn't hear any low rumbles coming from outside. Thinking that maybe it had all just been a figment of her imagination, she starts to lay down again to return to sleep. But then she hears it, the sound of footsteps and soft clamoring coming from the bakery beneath the apartment.

She grabs her phone off the dresser next to her bed to check the time.

 _2:48 am_.

Cat knows it's too early for George and Rebecca to be here, they never come into the bakery before four and that's on a day when they're early. Her stomach starts to twist into knots when she comes to the realization of what is happening, whoever or _whatever_ is downstairs is not supposed to be there. She's not really sure what to do, she's never been in a situation like this before. However, the first place her mind goes is to the baby in the crib in the corner of the apartment. Does whoever is downstairs know that the apartment exists? Do they know that someone is up here? Regardless of if they do or not, there is one thing that is very clear in Cat's mind right now, and that is that she needs to protect her daughter.

She climbs out of bed and walks quietly across the room, praying that her footsteps won't draw any attention from downstairs. A sigh of relief escapes Cat's mouth when she peaks over the side of the crib and finds that Lacey is still fast asleep, and that the noise hadn't woken her. More noise comes from downstairs and she can no longer stand the anxiety of not knowing who or what is down there. She grabs a zip-up hoodie from the foot of her bed and pulls it on over her tank top and pajama shorts, then unplugs her cell phone from it's charger and sticks it in her pocket, heading for the door. As she reaches for the handle, she stops.

 _Lacey_.

Is it safe to leave her here on her own? She is asleep, and Cat will only be downstairs. But what if whoever is down there is armed, and something happens to her? No one would know that Lacey was up here, and she would be all alone. She can't bring the baby with her, she would more than likely wake up, and she would make noise that would draw attention to them. Leaving her by herself isn't safe, taking her with isn't safe, but not going to see what's going on isn't safe either. She decides to leave the baby, it seems like the lesser of the three evils.

But Cat knows she can't go down there with only a cell phone. She had taken self defense in high school and in college, but who knows if her skills will hold up in a real situation or not? Looking around for something to grab, she realizes that she s very unprepared for a situation like this. She should have a baseball bat tucked away in the back of the small closet by the door or something like that, but she doesn't. Her apartment is almost entirely baby proof, there's nothing she can use to defend herself unless she wants to attempt to bludgeon whoever or whatever to death with a baby bottle. As a last resort, Cat goes into on of the drawers in the kitchen and pulls out the all-purpose kitchen knife, knowing she really doesn't have many other options.

 _She's not going to let anyone hurt her baby._

She returns to the door and begins quietly making her way down the staircase, taking one step at a time and pausing to make sure she hasn't been heard. She can't see any lights from where she is, but hears muffled whispers and rustling. There's definitely more than one person. As she reaches the bottom and peaks around the corner, she can see that the glass from the front door lays shattered in pieces on the floor. Looking up from the floor, Cat sees three figures moving around in the almost-darkness. Her hand fumbles around the edge of the wall, finally landing on the light switch.

"Hey!" She screams, flipping the lights on "What the hell are you doing?"

Standing in front of Cat are three teenage boys who certainly cannot be any older sixteen or seventeen. Whether it's the fear of being caught in the act or the fear of the crazy red-head standing in front of them with a knife in hand, they don't even have to look at each other to know to run.

* * *

"Oh my goodness..." Rebecca approaches Cat with arms outstretched "Cat, are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Cat assures her, accepting the hug "Oh! Careful!"

Lacey stirs slightly in the baby sling she rests in that is tied around her mother's body, but ultimately quiets down again and nuzzles her face into Cat's chest.

"I'm so sorry, Lacey." Rebecca apologizes "And I'm so sorry you had to get dragged into this, Cat. I've been trying to convince George to get a security system for _years_ now."

"I'm just happy they didn't try to fight me at all." Cat admits "How much is this going to cost to fix?"

Cat had already given her statement to the police and explained what happened. The boys had broken the window on the front door and busted the locks, the register had been tampered with but they're unsure if anything had been taken, and there is a lot of food missing.

"Hopefully not too much, we have good insurance." Rebecca tells her "George is trying to contact the company right now and find out. Thank you so much for thinking to come down and check, I can't imagine how much worse things would be if they hadn't been interrupted."

Cat nods with a smile and continues to talk to Rebecca for a while longer. Sure, she had come downstairs because she was concerned about what could have possibly been going on, but it was mainly the maternal instincts that told her she needed to protect her baby.

 _No one hurts her baby._


	48. Chapter 48

" _You got a fast car, Is it fast enough so we can fly away_?" Cat sings along quietly to the music playing softly out of her car radio " _We gotta make a decision, Leave tonight or live and die this way.._."

She slows the car to a stop at the last major intersection before the turn-in that leads to the alley behind the bakery. While she waits for the light to turn from red to green, she turns around and glances into the backseat, checking to see if Lacey is still asleep or not. She is, it's almost a given that she will fall asleep anytime she's in the car after seven o'clock. Cat can't help but smile at the sight of her little sleeping angel as she turns back around to start the car forward again.

" _So remember when we were driving driving in your car, Speed so fast I felt like I was drunk, City lights lay out before us_..." Cat continues singing along as she pulls into the alleyway behind the bakery " _And your arm felt nice wrapped 'round my shoulder, And I had a feeling that I belonged, I had a feeling I could be someone, be someone, be someone_..."

She shuts the car off and pulls the keys out of the ignition, grabbing her purse and Lacey's diaper bag out of the passenger seat before climbing out of the vehicle. In hopes of not waking the baby, Cat shuts the door softly before walking around to the opposite side of the car to take Lacey out. As she detaches the car seat from it's base, the baby stirs a bit, but doesn't wake up.

"Thank goodness." She sighs as she closes the rear door and locks the car with her remote, heading for the building

She's never been afraid of being alone in the alley by herself at night. If anyone was going to jump out and attack her, the headlights of her car would have illuminated them when she pulled in. However, since catching the three teenage boys that broke into the bakery a few weeks back, she always takes extra care to make sure the car as well as every door she needs to go through is locked behind her.

Cat unlocks the bakery door and steps inside, walking immediately over to the new security system George and Rebecca had installed after the break in. She has ninety seconds to get to the alarm system and enter the four digit code after she enters, or the police will be notified. The code is an easy one for her to remember. In fact, she'll probably never forget it as long as she lives.

 _0-2-1-8_

It wouldn't be hard for anyone who wanted to break in to figure out the date that the bakery first opened, or to even find out what George and Rebecca's wedding anniversary is. But it is extremely doubtful that anyone would think to use the birth date of the baby living in the apartment upstairs that most people don't even know exists.

After entering the code and making sure that the security system is still running, Cat and Lacey retreat to their apartment upstairs.

"Home sweet home." Cat whispers, setting Lacey's car seat down at the foot of her bed and switching on one of the lamps "Finally."

She digs her lunchbox out of her purse and empties everything out of it. She takes a washcloth out of one of the kitchen drawers and wets it, wiping down the inside of the reusable lunchbox before drying it with a towel. There's premade lunch components inside the refrigerator already, so making her lunch for the next day takes her all of about sixty seconds.

Now that lunch for the next day is taken care of, she can turn her attention back to the baby.

"Don't wake up, don't wake up, don't wake up..." Cat begs as she removes Lacey from her car seat

She wants more than anything to be able to just change Lacey into her pajamas and put her in her crib without waking her so she can change out of her waitress uniform and crawl into bed herself. Tonight, however, it doesn't look like she's going to get her way. Cat has Lacey about halfway to her crib when she begins to stir, yawning and opening her eyes to look at her mother.

"Hi baby girl..." Cat laughs, shaking her head "You're not going to let me go to bed early tonight, are you?"

Lacey's sleepy eyes focus enough to realize that the person talking to her is her mommy, and a tired grin spreads across her face.

"Yeah, that's what I thought." Cat sighs, setting the baby down on the changing table

If she's awake, Cat might as well take advantage of the situation. She gives the baby a fresh new diaper and changes her out of the outfit she had been wearing all day. Lacey is dressed in a pair of light purple footed pajamas and cradled in Cat's arms, then begins to quietly fuss.

"I know, I know." Cat tells her, walking into the kitchen "You're awake so you want to eat. I get it."

Rocking swaying gently side to side, Cat prepares Lacey's bottle with only one hand and then pops it into the bottle warmer.

"You know..." She says to the baby as she presses the button to start the tiny machine "You're almost six months old now, it might be about time to start giving you room temperature milk. I know, it sounds crazy."

But it would be so much easier if she could just make the bottle and give it to her without having the ninety second delay of the bottle warmer.

Lacey's cries grow louder and she grabs a fist full of the bright yellow material from Cat's dress.

"Hang on!" Cat exclaims, picking the bottle up and slipping the nipple into Lacy's mouth

The cries stop and Lacey's face relaxes as she begins to suck the formula out of the bottle.

"See?" Cat smiles, rocking the baby back and forth "All better."


	49. Chapter 49

"Gahhhhhhhh!" Lacey exclaims, trying to draw her mother's attention

"Yes?" Cat laughs, looking up from her book

Lacey smiles and looks down, already moving her attention on to the toys scattered on the floor around her.

"Goofball." Cat shakes her head, going back to reading

Every day is something new with Little Miss Alacia. Just recently, she's discovered that she has a voice that can be used for something other than crying. She babbles and coos constantly. It's so interesting to just sit and watch her play, explore, and discover, but Cat tries her best to focus on the words in front of her.

 _'Your baby will love turn-taking games, especially ones that involve sounds and language. Let your baby be the leader sometimes, and mimic their vocalizations. When it's your turn to lead, a good way to teach — and amuse — your baby is to make animal noises (quack-quack, bow-wow)._  
 _One upside of these kinds of games is that they can be played anywhere. Your baby will delight in the sounds of water splashing in the bathtub or blocks hitting the floor. Show your baby how to make these fun (and sometimes annoying) noises and then let them have a turn.'_

It's almost surreal to Cat that her baby girl has already been alive for a half a year now, and just how much she has grown since then. The day she was born she couldn't even hold her head up on her own, and now she can most definitely do that, she can even sit up by herself. It's amazing.

They're going to have to start solid foods soon, and Cat isn't so excited for that. It's relatively easy to multitask while you're feeding a baby her bottle, but Cat imagines that it's not quite so easy to multitask while feeding her baby food. Not to mention that baby food is much messier and much harder to get out of clothes, and overall just harder to deal with.

"Lacey, baby girl?" Cat puts her bookmark in the book and places it on the dresser "You want to just stop growing and stay my little baby girl forever?"

Lacey smiles at the familiar sound of Cat's voice, then turns and continues playing with her toys. Cat kneels down and crawls to sit next to her, picking her stuffed kitten up off the floor and holding it in front of the baby.

"Who's this, Lacey?" She asks

Lacey grins and wraps her arms around the stuffed animal, hugging it tightly to her chest.

"Yeah, you love Mittens. Don't you?" Cat smiles "Best twelve dollars I ever spent."

Cat is about to pick the baby up and set her in her lap when her phone goes off, signaling that she has received a new text message.

"Uh oh, baby girl." She chuckles, unlocking the phone to respond "Time to put the toys away, Aunt Jade and Uncle Beck are here to get us!"

She quickly gathers up all of the toys Lacey had been playing with, except for Mittens of course, and puts them back in the wicker basket where they're kept when they're not in use.

"C'mere." Cat bends down to pick up the baby "Oh my goodness, Peanut. You're getting heavy!"

She straps Lacey into her car seat and double checks the diaper bag to make sure she has enough baby bottles full of water to last for the afternoon before throwing a few extra diapers in just to be safe. Then she slips on a pair of flip flops, grabs her purse, the diaper bag, and the car seat, and is out the door.

* * *

"Just donate all of it." Jade sighs "If I haven't needed to wear it in the past five years that I haven't been living here, something tells me I don't need to keep it."

With Jade's mom and step-dad moving soon, Jade had recruited her friends to help clean out her childhood bedroom. They had picked a day when Beck wasn't shooting on set so that their entire friend group could spend the day together, and Mrs. Caldwell had even offered to make them dinner when they were finished. Lacey was downstairs playing with Jade's mom, while everyone else was upstairs.

"Even your prom dress?" Tori asks

"What the hell am I going to need my prom dress for?" Jade scoffs "By the time my daughter, if I ever have one, is old enough to go to prom, that thing will be so outdated she isn't even going to want to look at it. I have the pictures, I don't need to save it. Just donate it."

"Damn." Cat laughs "You're not emotionally attached to much of anything in here, are you?"

"No, not really."

"Ah ha!" Beck exclaims "I found it!"

"Found what?"

"The Hollywood Arts High School 2014 yearbook!"

"Yeah, so?" Jade raises an eyebrow at him "It's only been five years, Beck. Not that much has changed."

"Tori and Andre are married now." Beck reminds her "Cat has a kid. Enough has changed that it's worth looking back on."

"Alright whatever."

"I want to look too." Cat admits, sitting down on the floor next to Beck

If someone had told the eighteen year-old Cat Valentine, who was just about to graduate high school that her life today would be the way that it was, she probably would have laughed. She most certainly would not have expected to be twenty-three and a single mom. Beck is right. Even though she wouldn't have wanted her life to turn out in any other way, a lot has definitely changed in five and a half years.

"Who got to write in here with hot pink sharpie?" Beck chuckles, looking at the inside cover of Jade's yearbook "And why didn't you kill them?"

"I'll give you three guesses." Jade laughs "It has red hair and it's kid is downstairs with my mom."

"It's me if you hadn't guessed." Cat chuckles

"Ah." Beck turns the pages "Well, you wrote a lot, so I won't read it, if that's okay."

"That's fine." Cat shrugs "It was personal to Jade anyway."

"Turn to the superlatives." Andre tells him "Most of us won one."

"Your wife didn't win one." Tori reminds him "And I don't think Robbie did either."

"You're still amazing anyway." Andre presses a kiss to his wife's lips "Did you find 'em, Beck?"

"Yeah..." Beck chuckles "Most likely to win an Emmy...Jade West and Duncan Simmons."

"Alright." Jade scoffs "That's not happening anytime soon."

"That doesn't mean it won't happen at all." Cat says

"Whatever."

"Most likely to win an Oscar..." Cat smiles "Gabriella Combs and Mr. Beck Oliver."

"One day, hopefully." Beck sighs "But for now, TV."

"There's not a doubt in my mind, dude." Andre tells his friend "That new show of yours is doing great, it's only a matter of time until we see that face on the big screen."

"You're in here too, man." Beck says "Most likely to win a Grammy, Andre Harris and Cat Valentine."

"Some day soon." Andre nods "Not for my own vocals, but for helping to produce someone else's. I'm staying hopeful."

"You'll get one, baby." Tori smiles, wrapping her arms around him "We'll put it on the mantle in that new house we're going to buy soon."

"You bet." He presses another kiss to her lips

"I'll never win one." Cat shakes her head

"Wow, so positive." Jade remarks "Just because you have a kid doesn't mean you can't still be famous."

"You're right." Cat shrugs "But that whole part of my life is over now. Hopefully one day, I'll own my own clothing store. I want to be a business owner, not a singer."

"Well, it doesn't matter if any of us actually make any of these come true or not, right?" Beck says "All that matters is that we're happy. And I think we're all happy right now, aren't we?"

"Yeah." The five friends agree

Even though her life isn't anywhere close to what she thought it would be, Cat _is_ happy. Her jobs might not be what she _really_ wants to be doing right now, and her family might no longer be around, but everything else is about as close to perfect as it can get. She has great friends who care about her, and the most adorable little girl. Hopefully in the next year or so, she can move her and Lacey into a townhouse, and then from there start working on starting her business. But for right now, she's right where she needs to be.


	50. Chapter 50

Very rarely does it rain in Los Angeles. The only thing more uncommon than rain is a thunderstorm. Unfortunately for Cat, she loves both. Especially when she's trying to fall asleep at night. The soft pitter-patter of rain on the roof and the low soft rumble of thunder in the distance help lull her to sleep; it relaxes her. And god knows she could use some relaxation right now. Working two jobs and then coming home to take care of a six month-old baby can be stressful at times. There isn't a single thing about her life she would change, but everybody gets stressed from time to time.

It's 10:30 on a Friday night, and rain is falling lightly outside the windows of the small apartment. If Cat Valentine were a normal twenty three-year old, she would be out right now. She would be either partying at a club or out at a bar; hanging out with her friends, flirting and meeting new guys...all normal things. That's more than likely what all her friends are doing right now. But Cat Valentine is not a normal twenty-three year old, she's a twenty three-year old with a baby. So instead of partying on Friday night she's in bed watching TV while her baby sleeps soundly across the room. Could she have gotten a baby sitter? Yeah, she could have. But after working all day and not getting off work until nine, she's just too tired to go out. Not to mention she barley sees her baby at all during the day, and any extra time she gets to spend with her is worth a million times more than any experience she could get at a club.

Finally settled down from her long and exhausting day, Cat sets the sleep timer on her TV and puts the remote on the dresser next to her bed. It doesn't take long for her eyes to grow heavy, and she's asleep before she even gets the chance to watch the weather report on the news.

* * *

A loud crack of thunder echoes through downtown of Los Angeles, startling Cat awake and shaking the walls of the building.

She jolts upright in bed, terrified for a moment that she's experiencing another break-in like the one before. But after listening for a moment and realizing that the light rain from earlier has turned into a heavy downpour, it doesn't take long for her to put two and two together.

"Holy shit." She chuckles to herself, crawling out of bed and walking over to one of the windows

She pulls a curtain back and peeks outside into the alleyway behind the building. Rain bounces off the pavement and collects in puddles where there are dips in the cement. A smile spreads across her face because she knows this is more than likely the last and only summer storm she will get to see this year. She only wishes that it had come earlier and not at 1:30 in the morning. Letting the curtain fall back to rest against the window, she retreats back to the warmth of her bed.

Lighting strikes again, illuminating the entire apartment and casting shadows across the floor for a brief second before disappearing just as quickly as it came.

"Here we go..." Cat whispers to herself

A few moments later, there's another crack of thunder, this one even stronger and louder than the one that had woken her. And as relaxed as Cat had been in the moments prior, her maternal instincts have her on high alert when the baby in the crib in the corner begins to wail.

"Oh Lacey, sweetie..." Cat rushes across the room as quick as she possibly can and picks her daughter up, cradling her to her chest "Baby girl, it's okay. It's just a little thunder."

Lacey begins to quiet down a little when she realizes that she's in the comfort of her mother's arms, but immediately starts to scream again when another crack of thunder sounds.

"Shhh...shhh..." She bounces the baby up and down "It's just loud noise, it can't hurt you. It's okay...you're okay."

The whimpering infant looks up at her mother with a pouted lip and eyes full of tears, clinging tightly to Cat's t-shirt with both of her tiny fists.

"Mommy's here, Peanut." She smiles, kissing the top of her daughter's head "Mommy's got you..."

Knowing that Lacey will start screaming again if she tries to put her back to bed, Cat decides to take her back to bed with her. The baby continues to cling tight to her as she pulls the blankets over them both, snuggling Cat's chest as the two of them get situated.

Cat remembers a time when she too was afraid of thunder, although it was a _very_ long time ago. She would run crying into her parents bedroom, begging them to let her lay with them until the storm passed. They would always oblige, at least until a certain age. Her father would lift her into their king-sized bed and plop her down in between him and her mother. Together the three of them would count the seconds between the flash of lighting and the thunder crack, and the greater the amount of time between the two, the further the storm was moving from them and the sooner it was to being over. Once she turned seven she had to stay in her own bed at night, but by that point the thunder didn't bother her anymore.

She's immediately hit with a pang of guilt, knowing that her daughter will never have any experience close to that. Lacey will never know what it is like to lay in bed snuggled between her mommy and daddy, waiting for the scary thunderstorms to pass. Cat wishes more than anything that she could, but it's not possible. It probably never will be.

"Don't worry, sweetheart..." She whispers, running a hand over the semi-conscious baby's hair "You're safe here with me. I'll protect you from the thunder."


	51. Chapter 51

Lacey babbles non-stop as her mother pushes the shopping cart she sits in through the aisles of the grocery store. Nothing she says is understandable, or really even anything close to being real conversation, but she's working on it.

"Oh really?" Cat smiles, turning the cart down the next aisle "You don't say."

"Abah!" Lacey exclaims

"Uhg, I know." Cat tells her "I can't believe it either!"

Cat read that talking to babies helps stimulate the conversational parts of their brains. The more she talks to Lacey, the more likely Lacey is to be able to understand her and talk back sooner. Their conversations are starting to become not as one sided as they have always been.

"Okay, baby girl..." Cat sighs, stopping the cart in front of the section of baby food "Which ones do we want to try this week?"

Lacey is now old enough that she cane semi-graduate to solid foods. Semi-graduating meaning she still has a bottle with every feeding, but Cat can now feed her a single serving of baby food with every meal too.

"You seemed to really like the bananas last time, so we'll get some of those. Oh! And you liked the peaches." She says, grabbing a few packages of baby food off the shelve and tossing them into the cart "Carrots. Gotta gets some vegetables in there too, sorry sweetie. But oooh maybe we can make up for that with the apple-cherry ones? Huh? Does that sound good to you?"

Lacey smiles because she recognizes the food containers, not necessarily because she understands. She took to the new solid foods relatively well, only really putting up a fight when she was being fed a blend that she didn't find appealing. For example, the women who fed her at daycare earlier in the week learned the hard way that Miss Alacia has a very strong dislike for peas. The poor woman ended up wearing more food than Lacey ate.

"Maybe some cinnamon apples too, that sounds yummy." Cat tells the baby, grabbing one last package of baby food as well as a tub of baby formula and placing them in the cart as well "Next we need to get you some more water..."

She pushes the cart forward a few feet to the rows and rows of purified nursery water, grabbing two gallons and putting them in the cart, then returning to grab a third.

"Alright, hopefully you're set for a little while now..." She sighs "You're an expensive little bugger, you know."

"It only gets worse as they get older." A voice says

"Huh?"

Cat turns to see a couple maybe four or five years older than her, standing across the aisle pushing a cart with a baby that looks to be about a year old.

"The older they get, the more they eat." The man chuckles "And the more we have to pay."

"Oh." Cat chuckles "Yeah, that's what I've heard. How old is he?"

"11 months." The woman responds "Going to be a year next week. What about your daughter?"

"Almost seven months." Cat tells her

"They're great, aren't they?"

"Yeah." Cat smiles, looking at Lacey "They really are."

They make small talk for maybe two minutes before Cat can break away to finish the rest of her shopping. Standing there, talking to that couple made her feel a small pang of jealousy, both for her and for Lacey. That family was able to take a trip to the grocery store together on a Sunday morning, all three of them together. That's something that she and Lacey probably won't get to experience for a very long time. She knows it's stupid to be jealous, she's the one who chose for her life to be this way, but sometimes she just can't help it.

They move to the deli section of the store so Cat can get the things she needs to make herself lunches and dinners for the week, Cat grabs a number and stands back away from the counter waiting for her number to be called. Lacey is still babbling absent-mindedly to herself, and Cat can't help but smile as she listens.

Her little girl is one hundred and ten percent worth everything that she has had to go through to make it this far.

"She's adorable." A middle aged woman, maybe the same age as Cat's mother, says to her

"Thank you." Cat smiles

"How old?"

"Almost seven months."

"Oh, I remember when mine were that little." The woman sighs "Enjoy it, she'll be an adult before you know it."

* * *

"What on earth are you screaming about, Lacey?" Cat sighs

She's in the kitchen putting away the groceries they had just picked up, and Lacey is in the middle of the room, playing with her toys. Beck's show is playing on the TV. It airs every Wednesday night at seven, so Cat is never home to watch it live. But she always makes sure to record it so she can watch it on the days she doesn't have to work.

Lacey continues to shriek, so loud to the point where Cat can barely hear the dialogue from the show.

"Lacey..." Cat turns around "What the hell is wron- oh my god!"

Lacey, who must have recognized her uncle's face on the television, is at the base of the TV stand pawing at the wooden shelf. Which normally wouldn't be something Cat would be concerned about, if that had been where she had left her. But she didn't leave her by the TV, she left her closer to the futon.

"Did you crawl over here?" Cat smiles, bending down and picking the baby up

She hadn't seen it, so she had know way of knowing if she did or not, but she wants to find out. If it's true, this is a huge step in Lacey's development.

Cat sets the baby down on her stomach in the middle of the apartment again and walks back to the kitchen. For a moment, Lacey is confused and not sure where her mother went. But once she looks up and realizes that she isn't that far, a huge smile spreads across her face.

"Come here, Peanut." Cat coos with arms outstretched "I know you can do it! Come to Mommy!"

Lacey pushes herself up onto her hands and while keeping eye contact with Cat, reaches one shaky hand out and places it firmly on the ground.

"Oh my god!" Cat exclaims as Lacey moves herself closer and closer "Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, Lacey! You're crawling!"

Lacey isn't really sure why Mommy is so exciting, but she knows it must be a good reason. So she continues moving towards her with a huge grin on her face.

"That's it, you're almost there!" Cat encourages her daughter, trying her best not to cry "Yay!"

When the baby reaches her, she picks her up and spins her around in the air, causing Lacey to giggle.

"I'm so proud of you!" Cat rests Lacey on her lip and presses a kiss to her cheek "Oh you're so grown up."

Lacey rests her head on Cat's shoulder, still smiling.

"I love you, sweetheart." She whispers to the baby "And I'm going to need you to do that again so I can record it and send it to all your aunts and uncles, because I know they'll be really proud of you too."


	52. Chapter 52

"Coming around the turn at record speed..." Beck says in a fake announcers voice "It's Alacia 'The Bullet" Valentine!"

Lacey crawls into Tori and Andre's kitchen from the living room, her godfather close behind her, with a huge grin on her face.

"Shut the hell up, Beck." Jade rolls her eyes "You're being obnoxious."

"Oh let them play." Cat says "It's cute to watch. Hi Lacey baby."

Lacey smiles up at her mother as she shifts her weight backwards so she's in a sitting position.

"Come on, Lace." Beck picks the baby up and plants a kiss on her cheek "Let's go find your kitty, shall we?"

"Her name is Mittens!" Cat calls after him as he takes her daughter back into the main living room area of the apartment

"Does it matter what the stupid thing's name is?" Jade asks

"Uh, Mittens isn't stupid." Cat tells her friend "She's a loyal play companion."

"We really need to get her out more." Jade sighs, turning to Tori "She's losing it."

"She's fine." Tori chuckles "But if you want to go out, that's fine with me too."

"I'm out." Cat tells them

"No." Jade corrects her "You're at Tori and Andre's house. There's a difference."

"Well I'm not at _my_ house, so I consider myself to be 'out'."

"Whatever."

"So what's it like, having a baby that can crawl now?" Tori asks, cutting up vegetables to put in the salad

"It's crazy." Cat sighs with a smile on her face "I can hardly believe that she's old enough to crawl. It feels like not that long ago that I was feeling her move inside of me for the first time..."

"It really wasn't that long ago..." Jade reminds her "Less than a year right? It was almost Thanksgiving before you could feel her move."

"Give or take, I guess." Cat shrugs "She's just growing so fast...I wish time would slow down so I had more time to enjoy it."

She also wishes that she didn't have to work so much so she had more time to actually spend with her baby, but that's not really something that can be helped at the moment.

"I guess that's what people mean when they say 'don't blink'." Tori sighs

"Tell me about it." Cat scoffs "You could miss them growing, or reaching a major milestone, or pulling the tablecloth off the kitchen table..."

"Did she really do that?" Jade has to stop herself from laughing

"Uh huh." Cat nods "I can't turn my back on her anymore, she can move now. I left her for literally thirty seconds to put her towel away in the bathroom and _boom_. All my shit is on the floor."

"Alright Lacey." Jade chuckles to herself "Sorry, you have to admit it's just the tiniest bit funny."

This time it's Cat's turn to roll her eyes.

"Hey hey hey!" Andre announces as he enters the apartment "What's happening people?"

"Hey baby." Tori smiles as she walks to meet him, greeting her husband with a kiss "How was work?"

"Work was great." Andre grins "Dinner almost ready?"

Since receiving his promotion about three months ago, Andre has started enjoying going to work much more than he had in the past. The larger paycheck certainly makes it easier too.

"Almost." She tells him "It should just be a few more minutes, you have time to change if you want."

"I will most definitely be changing." He laughs

* * *

"This is delicious ladies." Andre smiles, taking a bite of the food on his plate in front of him "You all did a very good job."

"Agreed." Beck nods

"Tori did most of the work..." Cat assures them "We just helped out a bit."

" _You_ helped out a bit." Jade corrects her as she feeds a spoonful of 'Roasted Chicken and Vegetables' baby food to her goddaughter "I did nothing. Well, I heckled both of them. But I didn't do anything productive or helpful."

"Well _whoever_ is responsible, dinner is great." Andre laughs

Cat and Tori smile at each other before looking back to their plates and continuing to eat.

They go back and forth, taking turns talking about work. Beck tells them about how his show already got picked up for a second season. He'll have a few months off around the holidays after they finish up work on the first, but then he'll go right back into work at the beginning of the new year.

"Do people recognize you when you go out?" Cat asks

"Oh yes they do..." Jade sighs

"Yeah, they do." Beck chuckles "I mean, it's not like I'm a member of a boyband or anything like that who can't step foot out of their front door without being mobbed, but people will stop and ask for pictures and autographs."

"And by people he means females." Jade tells everyone at the table

"It's like sixty-forty." Beck shrugs

"Still too many females for my liking."

"Babe..." Beck leans over and kisses his girlfriend's cheek "I'm yours, you know that. They know that."

"Yeah...I know." Jade smiles "I just wanted to hear you say it."

Andre leans over and whispers something in Tori's ear that causes her to smile.

"Right now?" She giggles

"Woah." Jade holds a hand up to the two of them "There will be no whispering of the dirty variety while the child is present."

"I'm not being dirty." Andre holds his hands up in defense

"Mhm..." Cat shoots him a look of disbelief

"I'm not!" He assures them "We actually just...we have some news that we want to share with you."

"You're pregnant!" Jade points to Tori with a spoon full of baby food

Lacey whines and kicks her legs in her baby seat. She can see the food, but it's not in her mouth. And that pisses her off.

"Sorry kid." Jade places the spoon in her mouth "That was my bad."

"I'm not pregnant..." Tori tells them all

"Aw." Cat frowns "I was hoping Lacey was getting a playmate."

"No, not yet..." Tori chuckles "But we're getting there. We actually erm...we're buying a house. That's the news!"

"We're _kind of_ buying a house." Andre butts in "We've purchased a lot. We're building our own home."

"Oh congratulations, guys." Cat smiles "That's so exciting."

"Yeah." Jade agrees "That's great, we're really happy for you."

"How long until it's finished?" Beck asks "Will it be anytime soon?"

"We're hoping to spend Christmas there." Andre tells him "But it all depends on the weather, the contractors, the budget...there's a lot of factors that go into it."

"Well." Beck raises his glass "Here's to Tori and Andre's new house!"


	53. Chapter 53

The sound of high-pitched infant wails fill the small studio apartment and Cat sits straight up in bed faster than she ever imagined that she could. Normally, when Lacey wakes up in the middle of the night, which is rare now, the cries begin as soft whimpers and then progressively grow louder and louder until Cat wakes up; that normally doesn't take long at all, as motherhood has caused Cat to become a much lighter sleeper. This time, however, there were no soft whimpers. Only screaming.

"What's the matter, baby girl?" She calls to the infant, padding barefoot across the floor "Mommy's coming, don't worry."

Lacey is sitting upright in her crib, face already bright red and stained with tears as she holds her arms out, reaching for her mother the minute they make eye contact.

"Sweetheart, what is the matter?" Cat sighs, lifting the baby up into her arms and pressing a kiss to her forehead "My goodness, you're warm..."

On any other occasion, Cat being the natural worrier that she is, might panic. But their AC was switched off, and Los Angeles was experiencing a night warmer than should be expected in the beginning of October. Cat herself was sleeping on top of her sheets in only a sports bra and running shorts. She could control the amount of airflow to the apartment and the temperature from the control on the wall, but not if the system was actually running or not.

"I know it's uncomfortable, I do..." Cat tells Lacey, walking into the bathroom to start a lukewarm bath for the baby in hopes of cooling her off "But we can't call Mr. George and ask him to turn the air conditioning on for only one night...it's not practical. Oh baby, you're all sweaty..."

The two of them sit down on the bathroom floor and Cat begins stripping Lacey's pajamas off of her, as well as her diaper, before sitting the baby down in her bath seat. Lacey calms a bit, furrowing her eyebrows and splashing at the water as if it were something new she was only just discovering for the first time.

"Any better?" Cat asks the baby hopefully, knowing she won't get a response

She cups her hand and uses it to lift up small amounts of water and pour it all over Lacey's little body. For a moment, she does consider calling George and asking him to turn the AC on. But she would feel horrible calling him at three in the morning, and by the time he would get here and get it working, and it actually had time to run and cool the building off, it would be time for Cat and Lacey to leave for the day anyway.

"No real pajamas for you tonight, huh? Maybe just a onesie when we're done here..." Cat says to Lacey "I'm sorry, sweetie. I wish there was more I could do. It'll be better tomorrow night. A cold front is going to move in tomorrow and it will actually start feeling like fall. Or at least like fall in Los Angeles, it doesn't get as autumney here as it does in other places."

And by that she means it doesn't really get all the autumney at all.

"Alright, kiddo..." She pulls the drain plug from the bottom of the tub "Let's get you back to bed, we've got to be up in a few hours."

* * *

"Yoo-hoo...Cat...anybody in there?"

"Huh?" Cat suddenly snaps back into reality "What? Sorry, I wasn't listening."

"I know you were't..." Her co-worker chuckles "You were completely zoned out."

"Sorry..." Cat apologizes "I was up all night with my daughter...the AC was off in our apartment and she was so uncomfortable she couldn't sleep. I think I spent more time up with her than I did actually sleeping."

"How old?"

"Almost eight months." Cat sighs, resting her hand in her chin on the register desk "I gave her a bath, I put some cold water in one of her bottles, I turned a fan on, nothing worked. And this morning when I dropped her off at daycare she was being a cranky little booger because she barely got any sleep."

"Well, they said that cold front will be blowing in off the coast sometime in the next few hours, so hopefully you'll both be able to sleep a little better tonight." The other woman says

"I certainly hope so."

"Cat!" Her manager calls out to her, approaching at a rapid pace "There's a call for you on line four. It's your daughter's daycare, they said it was important."

"Okay. Thank you." Cat nods, picking up the phone and hitting the button to connect to line four "Hi, this is Cat Valentine."

She's never had to be called at work before, not even a few weeks ago when Lacey started teething and became almost incorrigible.

"Hi Cat, this is Tammi from the daycare."

"Hi Tammi, is everything okay?" Cat asks, knowing that the answer is probably 'no'

"It appears that Little Miss Alacia might have a fever..." The woman on the other end of the phone sighs "She's been cranky all morning long and we just took her temperature at it was at 101.7. We can't keep her here out of risk of her spreading it to the other kids and-"

"Oh gosh, okay." Cat interrupts her with a voice full of concern "I'll be over as soon as possible to get her. Thank you for calling."

"We'll have her ready and waiting for you."

"Alright, I'll be there soon." Cat says, and then hangs up the phone "Well, looks like I'm getting off early today."

"Sick baby?"

"Yup." Cat nods "God, how could I have been so stupid. She wasn't hot, she was sick. What the hell is wrong with me?"

"It was an honest mistake, Cat." Her coworker assures her "Go ahead and go talk to Stacey about leaving."

"Thanks." Cat nods "I owe you."

"No you don't." The other woman shakes her head "Your little one needs you, that's no reason to owe anybody anything."


	54. Chapter 54

"I'm so sorry to be bothering you with this..." Cat apologizes, using her freehand that isn't being used to support a very restless and cranky Alacia "But obviously my mom and I aren't speaking anymore and my friends certainly aren't going to know what to do and I just didn't know who else to ask for help."

"Caterina." Rebecca places her hand on the young girl's shoulder "Don't you worry about it, we're never very busy this time of day anyways."

Nodding with a small smile of relief, Cat pushes open the door to the apartment and throws her keys in the dish on the counter in the small kitchen. She drops her work bag and the diaper bag on her bed, and then immediately focuses all of her attention on her sick little girl.

"The daycare people told me she was already up to 101.7." Cat tells Rebecca "What do I do? I hate seeing her miserable."

"I would try a bath first." Rebecca suggests "It might not break her fever, but it will at least help her cool off a bit. About fifteen minutes or so should be enough to help, and then when you bring her out, dress her lightly. Too many layers will worsen the cause instead of helping it."

"Right." Cat says "Do you think I should call her doctor?"

"Fevers like this are very common in babies her age, especially when their teeth start coming in." Rebecca informs her "If you give her a bath and she calms down a bit, there's no need. But if she reaches anything over 103, then give the office a call and see what they suggest."

"Okay." Cat nods "Thank you so much, Rebecca. We really appreciate it."

"Of course, dear." Rebecca smiles "I'll be downstairs until five if you need anything. Bye bye, Miss Alacia. I hope you feel better."

"Bye bye." Cat picks up Lacey's hand and waves goodbye, but the baby immediately pulls her head back and buries her head in her mother's shirt

She carries the baby over to her crib and digs through one of the attached drawers, pulling out the baby ear thermometer and turning it on.

"I just need you to sit still for like, ten seconds. Okay?" Cat sighs, sticking the thermometer into Lacey's ear to get a reading "Oh no..."

The digital display shows that the baby's temperature has increased to 102.5.

"Alright, let's go try that bath again, shall we?" Cat presses a kiss to Lacey's burning temple "I'm sorry, baby girl. I'm trying to make it better, I really am."

* * *

"Los Angeles Pediatrics, how may I help you?"

"Hi, this is Cat Valentine." Cat says, looking down at her daughter she has cradled against her chest with her free arm "I'm calling in regards to my daughter, Alacia. She's a patient of Dr. Maynard."

"Of course!" The nurse on the other end of the phone responds "How can I help you, Ms. Valentine?"

"Alacia was up all night last night with a fever, I thought she was just overheating because it was so hot out and we had our air conditioning turned off. But her daycare called me this morning and said she was up to 101.7, so I brought her home, I've tried everything but it's still climbing. I just took her temperature again and now she's up to a 103.6..." Cat explains "I just wanted to know what you would suggest? Should I bring her in? Is there medicine I can give her? I'm a first time mom and she's never been sick before..."

"Does she have any other symptoms?" The nurse asks "Or is it just the fever?"

"Um, she's been coughing a bit." Cat tells her "And she's had a runny nose for a few days."

"And according to her chart, she's almost eight months, correct?"

"Right." Cat nods "She'll be eight months next week."

"Alright, Dr. Maynard is right here in the office so just give me a minute to run all of this by her and we'll see what she suggests. Okay?"

"Okay, thank you."

She's put on hold and Cat looks down at Lacey again. Her face is pressed up against her mother's chest, one fist clinging tightly to the fabric of Cat's shirt, her face stained with tears. Knowing that she's done everything that she can to help her daughter and that it still isn't enough is tearing Cat apart. She feels horrible, like she's failed the little girl. Mommy's are supposed to be able to make everything better, and this time she just can't.

"Are you still there, Ms. Valentine?"

"Yes." Cat sits up straighter "I'm here."

It's odd hearing herself be referred to as 'Ms. Valentine', everyone else in her life never calls her anything but Cat.

"I just spoke to Dr. Maynard and she definitely thinks Alacia needs to be seen."

"Okay." Cat sighs

All of her worst fears are coming true. Lacey is _really_ sick and nothing she did could have helped.

"Are you still on Stanford Avenue?" The nurse asks

"Yes..." Cat responds "We are, why?"

"An infant at Alacia's age shouldn't have a temperature that high, even if they _are_ sick." The nurse explains "Doctor Maynard would like you to take her over to urgent care instead of bringing her here. They'll be of better help over there. Are you familiar with the office on Vermont Avenue?"

"Uh huh.." Cat responds, her voice quivering

"Okay great. I'll call them as soon as we're done here and let them know you'll be on your way so someone is ready and waiting for you." The nurse tells her "Any questions."

"No, thank you." Cat sighs

"Not a problem! We hope Alacia feels better real soon!"

"Me too." Cat nods, hanging up the phone and almost immediately dialing another number

Urgent care is just one step below needing to take Lacey to the emergency room. How could she have been so stupid? How did she not notice sooner?

"Hey Cat." Jade answers "What's up?"

"Do you know where the urgent care office on Vermont Avenue is?" Cat asks

"Um, yeah..." Jade repsonds "Why?"

"Lacey is sick." Cat admits "She has a fever over 103 and I'm scared and I don't want to take her by myself because I don't know if I'll be able to handle it."

"Say no more." Jade responds "I'll meet you there in ten minutes."


	55. Chapter 55

Cat sits in exam room six of the urgent care center with Lacey on her lap. The infant is hugging her stuffed kitten to her chest like her life depends on her keeping her grip, meanwhile, her mother is panic stricken.

What could possibly be so wrong with her daughter that the doctor's office couldn't take care of it?

 _Why did they need to send her to urgent care?_

 _What could she have done to prevent this?_

 _How can she help her little girl?_

Cat's mind is racing when there's a knock on the door, pulling her from the thoughts inside her head.

"Come in." Cat responds

The door opens and for the first time since receiving the phone call from Lacey's daycare earlier, Cat finally feels some relief.

"Hey." Jade says with a sympathetic smile as she enters the room "How is she?"

"She's miserable." Cat sighs, bouncing Lacey gently on her lap "The poor thing hasn't stopped whimpering since I picked her up today."

"Oh Lacey..." Jade frowns, plopping down in the empty chair next to Cat "What's the matter, little bug? Are you not feeling so great?"

The eight month-old looks up at her godmother with big puppy dog eyes, before hiding her face behind Mittens.

"Lace, you don't need to hide..." Jade tells the baby "It's me! It's Auntie Jade!"

"Don't take it personally." Cat tells her "She hasn't exactly been all that warm towards _anybody_ today."

"I get it kid, being sick bites." Jade sighs "What about you, Momma? How are you?"

"Horrible." Cat admits "I fucked up, Jade."

"You can't seriously think this is your fault."

Cat doesn't say anything, and repositions the baby on her lap so that it's more comfortable for both of them.

"Oh my god, you think it's your fault." Jade shakes her head "Cat, your kid getting a fever had nothing to do with you. Stuff like this just can't be helped sometimes."

"If I hadn't been so ignorant last night, maybe she wouldn't have gotten this bad..." Cat says "I could have saved her a whole twelve hours of suffering."

"You had every reason to think that she was just overheating. You were overheating, I was overheating, hell, half of Los Angeles was fucking overheating." Jade reminds her "It's okay, Cat. It's not your fault. What's important is that you had the brain to call the doctor and ask what to do when you didn't know. Lacey is going to be fine."

There's another knock at the door and it immediately opens to reveal one of the urgent care doctors.

"Hello." He smiles, looking at his charts "My name is Dr. Fischer, which one of you is Alacia?"

"She is." Cat nods towards the baby on her lap

"Hmmm." The doctor bends down to look at the baby "I understand somebody has a _pretty_ high temperature, huh Miss Alacia? Would you mind if I take her?"

"Go ahead." Cat nods, releasing the baby into the doctor's care

Doctor Fischer tries to place Lacey down on the examination table, bus soon as she realizes that Cat is no longer the one holding her, Lacey begins to scream. She cries and squirms in the doctor's arms, trying to get back to her mom.

"I'm so sorry..." Cat apologizes

"No need to apologize, it's common for her age." Doctor Fischer smiles "Would you mind holding her while I examine her?"

"Of course." Cat nods, climbing up onto the examination table

The doctor places Lacey back in her mother's arms and she immediately cuddles up against Cat's body.

"Shhh...don't be shy, Lacey." Cat whispers, kissing the top of her daughter's head "He's a doctor, he's here to help you. Look! Do you see Aunt Jade? Wave to Aunt Jade!"

She picks up the baby's hand and moves it back and forth to distract the infant from the doctor who is currently prepping an ear thermometer to take her temperature.

"Hi, baby girl." Jade smiles "I see you! Look at how high up you are!"

In reality, the table is really only three feet off the floor, but to Lacey three feet might as well be three hundred.

"My my my, Miss Alacia..." Doctor Fischer sighs "You certainly are burning up."

"How high is it?" Cat asks, straining to look at the display on the thermometer

"103.6"

"Good." Cat sighs "It hasn't gotten any higher."

"Try to keep her still." Doctor Fischer entrusts, putting on his stethoscope and breathing on the head to warm it up "Most babies get pretty squirmy when I do this."

Cat nods and tries to keep Lacey as still as possible while he listens to her lungs. She squirms a bit, but it's quite obvious that the baby is running out of energy to fight back.

"Alright, her breathing isn't rattly at all." Doctor Fischer reports "So that's a good thing. It seems to me like we're just dealing with a little bit of a viral infection here."

"Okay." Cat nods "What does that mean for her?"

"Some antibiotics, lots of rest...nothing you can't handle." He tells her "Her fever will break hopefully in the next twenty-four hours, and after that she'll slowly start to get her appetite back. I'm going to go fill out her prescription request now, I'll be back in a few minutes."

"Okay." Cat nods "Thank you so much."

Doctor Fischer exits, leaving Jade, Cat and Lacey sitting in almost silence, Lacey's sniffles being the only noise that can be heard. That is, until the sound of soft cries become audible. One would probably expect them to come from Lacey, but no. They're coming from Lacey's mother.

"Cat?" Jade stands up and walks over to her friend, placing a hand on her shoulder "Hey...are you okay?"

"Am I a total idiot for thinking that I could do this by myself?" Cat cries, hugging Lacey closer to her chest "My baby got sick and I didn't even know what to do! I just panicked!"

It's probably the first time that she's cried since Lacey was born. All the stress and worry and fear of the last eight months of single parenthood are flooding out of her and she doesn't know how to make it stop.

"What? Cat, no. No no no no no, you're not an idiot." Jade assures her "I don't think I can come up with any parent who doesn't get worried when their child gets sick. Panic just means that you care too much about her to see anything bad happen to her."

"I love her _so_ much." Cat sniffs "God, I just...I feel like she deserves better, you know? Better than a single mom who's only twenty three and has to send her child to daycare for a majority of the day so she can work two jobs. Maybe this is supposed to be some kind of sign that I shouldn't be doing this on my own..."

"Stop that." Jade says firmly "You're a great mom, Cat. You really are. You're working two jobs so you can take care of Lacey and make a better future for you both. All kids get sick every once and a while, getting sick is a part of life. There's not a single person out there who is more qualified tone raising this little girl than you are. You're her Mommy."

"I...I know. And that's scary as hell. Eight months old and I already screwed up."

"For the last time, you didn't screw up." Jade sighs, hopping up on the examination table to sit next to Cat "Anyone could have made that same mistake. I probably would have, Tori probably would have, lord knows Andre and Beck are clueless and probably would have..."

Jade's last remark manages to get a chuckle out of Cat, which she sees as a small success.

"Look..." Jade wraps an arm around Cat and Cat rests her head on Jade's shoulder "Every first time parent is going to make a few mistakes. You will, one day I will too...but the only thing that really matters right now is that Lacey is going to get better, she's going to be okay."

"I don't deserve you." Cat smirks

"I know you don't." Jade laughs "But hey, what are friends for, right?"

"I love you."

"I love you too, girly." Jade smiles "And I love you too, LaceyBug."

"Oh man..." Cat looks down at her daughter and plants a kiss right in the middle of her sweaty forehead before pulling her close for another hug "I love you more than anything else in this entire universe, Alacia Avery. That will never change, you can count on it."


	56. Chapter 56

The days and weeks following Lacey's trip to urgent care leave Cat majorly on edge; she's always keeping an eye on the baby for any signs that her sickness may be coming back. But Lacey makes a full recovery with the help of her antibiotics, and eventually Cat feels she can relax. At least for the time being.

Lacey's first Halloween is right around the corner and Cat couldn't be more excited to get to dress her daughter up for the very first time. Of course, they won't be doing much in the way of Trick-or-Treating, but they'll probably pay a visit to Uncle Andre and Aunt Tori, and to Uncle Beck and Aunt Jade.

"One time, when we were in high school, Aunt Jade convinced me to go with her to a haunted house." Cat tells Lacey that morning as she dresses her in a bright orange 'My First Halloween' onesie "I didn't really see what the harm would be, but my oh my was I wrong, kiddo. I think people could probably hear me screaming in the next town over. I was _so_ scared. Aunt Jade loved it, of course. I'll let you form your own opinions on them when you're older, just don't expect me to be the one to take you."

Lacey smiles up at her mother as she slips a flower headband on her head.

"Oh my goodness are you cute." Cat coos, picking the baby up and smothering her face with kisses "Such a spooky little girl!"

At eight months old now, Lacey has quite a head of dark brown hair, just like her Mommy. When she smiles, it's quite evident that she inherited her mother's dimples as well. But Cat has noticed that she also scrunches up her nose the same way that Robbie did, or more than likely still does. And her laugh? It's Cat's favorite sound in the whole wide world, it melts her heart. It melts just about everyone's heart.

Cat kisses the baby's nose and Lacey grins in response.

"Alrighty." Cat sighs, standing up "Mommy gets to pick you up _before_ dinner tonight, how exciting is that? I'll come straight from Macy's to get you, then we'll come home, get some dinner, change, and we'll go visit your aunts and uncles!"

Thankfully, Cat had found someone to cover her shift at Rosie's tonight. Now that Lacey is getting older, she wants to be present on all special occasions, even smaller holidays such as Halloween. Years and years from now when Lacey looks back at pictures, Cat wants to be able to tell her about the stories and memories that go along with them. She wants her to know that her Mom was there for as much as she possibly could.

* * *

"Beck, you might want to call an exterminator or something..." Jade laughs as she opens the door to her boyfriend's apartment "Looks like you've got bugs."

"But I'm too cute to exterminate, Auntie Jade!" Cat says in a baby voice, holding Alacia up in front of her face

"You sure are." Jade smiles, extending her arms and taking the baby from her friend "Come on inside, Cat."

"Well, Miss Alacia..." Beck smirks, walking out of the kitchen and into the entryway "Aren't you just the cutest little ladybug I've ever seen?"

He reaches out to take her from Jade, but she turns away.

"You can have her in a few minutes." She tells him "I just got her, it's my turn."

Beck's new TV show was doing _very_ well, so well that he had been able to afford a new, and rather spacious, two-bedroom apartment in Hollywood. Jade _technically_ has her own apartment downtown, only a few blocks away from Cat's, but she is rarely ever there and spends more time at Beck's. When Cat asked him why he didn't just ask her to move in with him and make it official, he confided in her that he wasn't really planning on staying in the apartment for all that long. His plan is to propose to Jade and then buy a house for both of them to start their married life in together. However, when asked when he was planning to propose, he couldn't really give a straight answer.

"Oh come on, that's not fair." Beck pouts "You saw her on Sunday."

"So?"

"I was filming!" Beck reminds her "I haven't gotten Lacey time in almost two weeks."

"Have you finished packing?" Jade asks him

"Well..." Beck sighs "No but-"

"Go pack!" She orders "Then you can have the baby."

"Alright fine." Beck rolls his eyes, then disappears into the bedroom

"Packing for what?" Cat raises an eyebrow, shrugging her purse and the diaper bag off her shoulder and onto the floor "Are you guys going somewhere?"

"I'm not, but he is." Jade carries Lacey over to the couch and sits down "They're filming on location the next few days."

"Oh that's fun." Cat smiles "You know, I totally expected you to be watching horror movies."

"We will be." Jade smirks "As soon as you guys leave, but I wouldn't dare with Lacey around."

"Well aren't you sweet?" Cat chuckles "Don't worry, we won't be long. She's fading fast."

Lacey had been on quite an adventure tonight. She got to go Trick-or-Treating at the bakery, Aunt Tori and Uncle Andre's, _and_ Uncle Beck's. Everyone had gone absolutely crazy over her ladybug costume.

"Maybe next year she'll be old enough to actually eat the candy and say up 'till all hours on a sugar high." Jade teases

"Eh." Cat shrugs "Maybe not next year, but the year after for sure."

"Okay, all I have to do is throw my toothbrush and similar items in my bag in the morning and I'll be all set." Beck says, re-entering the main part of the apartment "Gimme the baby."

"Fine, here you go." Jade sighs, handing Lacey over to her boyfriend

"Hi Lacey!" Beck kisses the baby's cheek, causing her to smile "I missed you!"

"Where are you filming?" Cat asks

"Um..." Beck hesitates "...New York."

"Oh that's so exciting!" Cat grins "You'll love it, it's a beautiful city."

"Yeah, we're going to be filming a majority of the time that I'm there but they're giving us two days off, I think, to do some sightseeing and exploring." Beck tells her "Listen, Cat...I need to tell you something..."

"You're going to see him, aren't you?" She sighs

"We're getting lunch." Beck nods "He's one of my best friend's, Cat. I couldn't be in his city for almost a week and not reach out to him."

"No yeah, I know. I understand..." Cat nods "Beck, you _can't_ let him find out, okay? You can't."

"I won't." Beck assures her "If he asks about her, I'll tell him she's a friend's daughter. If he inquires past that I'll just say it's someone I met in the business."

Does Beck feel just the slightest bit guilty about lying to one of his best friends? A little bit. But the way he's acted since getting his new residency show hasn't exactly settled well with anybody in the friend group.

"I'm sorry. I should have told you."

"Don't feel sorry..." Cat shakes her head "Like you said, he's one of your best friends and you haven't seen him in a while, so you should. And I trust that you'll be able to keep the information from him that needs to be kept."

"I'd give my life for Lacey, you know that."

"Yeah, I do."


	57. Chapter 57

For the next few days, Cat finds herself sitting on pins and needles waiting for Beck to return from New York. Every time she feels her phone vibrate in her pocket she dreads that she will grab it only to find a text message from him reading something along the lines of 'I'm sorry, I blew it. He knows. And he's not happy', or 'He knows and he wants to come home with me so the two of you can talk'. Every phone call makes her jump, wondering if it will be Robbie from an unknown number, trying to get in contact with her and yell at her for keeping such a thing from him.

She's just protecting her baby. No child deserves to grow up with a parent who doesn't want them, or feels burdened by them. Robbie didn't want her, doesn't want her, so how could she subject her daughter to that and still be able to sleep at night? She doesn't know if she could. Which is why they're better off on their own. Cat and her friends can give Lacey all the love that she'll ever need.

Cat stands over her daughter's crib, watching her sleep. The infant is completely oblivious to everything that has happened regarding her, and she wishes that it will always stay that way. Of course, when Lacey gets older Cat just knows the questions will come. It breaks her heart to think about how one day she might have to tell her daughter that her father didn't want her.

The thought has entered her mind that maybe if she found someone else, and they were married before Lacey was old enough to understand and he adopted her, the question would just never come up. But for two reasons, Cat knows it's not possible. One? She would feel terrible. Her daughters life would be a lie, growing up thinking another man is her father. If she ever found out, she would hate Cat and would probably go looking for Robbie. When he found out what happened, he would hate Cat too. And two? She doesn't think she'll be ready to move on while Lacey is still young enough to not understand. Because as sick and as painfully twisted as it may be, she still really loves Lacey's father.

They were together for six years, and they went through so much together in that time. They had been each other's firsts, and they were really in love. Cat thought they would be together forever, apparently everyone did. She still can't believe she had been stupid enough to invest so much time and fall so hard for a boy who didn't want the same things that she did. She doesn't know how long it will take her to get over him.

"I don't understand..." Cat whispers to herself as a tear slips down her cheek "How could he not want you?"

Her hands grab the rail of the crib harder as she tries to keep herself from full out sobbing and waking the baby she had just spent so much time trying to get down. Lacey is the most amazing baby she's ever met; she's biased of course, but still. Cat wakes up everyday with a heart bursting full of love for this perfect little girl she brought into the world. She doesn't know how someone could not like even the idea of that.

"God, I love you so much, Alacia." She sighs "You're the best thing that has ever happened to me."

* * *

"How's my favorite little girl?" Beck grins, picking Lacey up off the floor not even seconds after he's walked in the door and dropped his bags "I missed you, Junior!"

Lacey smies as her godfather kisses her and blows raspberries on her cheek, not even caring that he ripped her away from her toys.

"Beck!" Jade cries as she trips and almost falls over his discarded bags

"What?"

"You can't just leave those there!" She reminds him "I almost died."

"I'll move them in a bit." Beck tells her "I missed my little munchkin."

"Technically she's _Cat's_ little munchkin." Jade reminds him

"I think it's cute." Cat admits "At least you know he'll be a good father."

"If he ever wants to have any, he better get working on a ring." Jade sighs, picking up Beck's bags an carrying them into his bedroom

Beck and Cat exchange a look, knowing that proposing was in Beck's plans.

"So..." Cat shoots Beck a look of curiosity

"He hasn't got a clue." Beck admits, walking over and sitting on the couch next to her "He didn't even bring up the baby from my social medias at all."

"Thank god..." Cat sighs, taking Lacey as she reaches her arms out to her

"He did ask about you though..."

"Of course he did..." She groans "What'd he ask?"

"He wanted to know how you were doing." He explains "If you were okay, if you were seeing anybody..."

"Of course he asked that."

"Well you did leave him without much of an explanation..."

"Which I feel bad about, but it was for the good of everyone." She defends herself "How'd you answer?"

"I told him the truth." Beck nods "That you're doing well, that you're working so you can open your store. And no, you're not seeing anybody."

"Is he..."

"Is he what?"

"Is _he_ seeing anybody?" She asks, knowing she might regret hearing the answer

"Honestly, I don't know if he's had the time to go out and meet anyone else." Beck tells her "That show keeps him pretty busy."

"I figured as such." She sighs "Is he at least enjoying it?"

"From what I can tell...it seems like he loves it."

"Well, that's all that's important."

She doesn't hate Robbie for being happy. In fact, it makes her feel a little better about her decision. He's living the life that he always wanted to. And in a way, she's living the lie that _she_ has always wanted to, she's just not quite to the point that she wants to be yet. Which is one hundred percent fine, she'd rather have Lacey and wait a few years on her store than be living a life where she knows she'll never have any children at all.


	58. Chapter 58

Sighing to herself, Cat cuts her car's ignition outside of Lacey's daycare and climbs out of the vehicle, starting up the front walk towards the house.

Her work day, specially her shift at Rosie's, had felt exceptionally long today. Lacey had been extremely cranky the night before and had a hard time going down, keeping them both up almost two hours longer than usual. Working all day at Macy's and then going straight to a second job is hard enough on a normal day, but it's even harder when Cat is exhausted and dealing with ruder-than-usual customers.

A couple had come in and acted incredibly rude in an 'I've never worked in food service ever' kind of way. The woman explained that she had a gluten intolerance, and Cat had been more than happy to give her their gluten-free menu. However, when she couldn't find anything she found appealing on said menu, for whatever reason it was all Cat's fault. She thought she was as helpful as possible, but the couple still felt the need to complain to her manager. She was assured that nothing was her fault, and that customers like this come around more often than they would like. Which Cat knows, almost a year and a half at Rosie's has taught her that some people are just disrespectful by nature. But today was not the day she would have picked to have to deal with rude customers; she's exhausted and she just wants to get Lacey and go home.

She stuffs her car keys in her apron pocket and opens the door to the house, being greeted almost immediately by one of the workers.

"Hi Cat." She smiles "How was your day?"

"Long." Cat sighs "I'm ready for bed."

"I'll go grab Lacey then so you two can get home." The woman tells her, disappearing down the hallway

She reappears a few minutes later, a very tired and exasperated looking Lacey in her arms.

"Hi Mommy!" She picks up Lacey's arm and waves

"Hi Peanut." Cat takes her daughter in her arms "You ready to go home?"

"She was a bit fussy today." The woman tells her "I think her teeth might be giving her trouble."

"Oh no..." Cat frowns, gently brushing her finger against the baby's lips in hopes of getting her to open up her mouth "Oh gosh, yeah her gums are really swollen. I'll keep an eye on it, thank you."

"Sure. I hope your mouth feels better, sweetheart." The daycare worker says "I'll see you guys tomorrow night."

"Have a good rest of your night." Cat smiles "Come on Lace, let's go home."

* * *

"Oh my goodness gracious, Alacia." Cat groans, shifting Lacey in her lap "How are you _still_ awake?"

It's not hard to tell that Lacey is just as exhausted as her mother, if not more, but the little girl just does not want to go to sleep tonight. Although she is constantly yawning and rubbing her eyes, she refuses to lay in her crib and fall asleep. All she seems to want to do for whatever reason is just crawl around on Cat's bed; she's extremely cranky too, stopping every few minutes and burying her face in the sheets and whining.

"Alright, fine." Cat sighs, standing up "If you don't want to sleep in your bed, you'll sleep in Mommy's tonight."

It's approaching 11:30 now and Cat doesn't know how much longer she'll be able to stay up with her daughter. She pulls back the sheets on her bed and climbs in with Lacey in her arms, turns off the light, and lays down.

Lacey immediately begins to whine, twisting around and trying to break free of Cat's grip."

"Lacey..." Cat sighs "Are you kidding me?"

The baby is up and crawling around again, still whimpering.

"Your teeth really do hurt, don't they?"

Cat sits up and turns the lamp on again. The sudden reappearance light causes Lacey to flinch and close her eyes before reopening them and looking at her mother with clear evidence of fatigue.

"I know, kiddo. I want to go to sleep too..." She tells the baby "Come here, let's see what we can do."

She picks Lacey up and rests her on her hip, carrying her to the kitchen with her.

"Sit here for a second, baby girl." Cat sets her down on the floor with her stuffed kitten Mittens

She grabs the gallon of purified nursery water out of the fridge along with the bottle of baby apple juice and sets them down on the counter before reaching for one of the baby bottles. Lacey has already had her bedtime bottle, so she can't give her anymore formula. But apple juice is perfectly fine.

"Alright..." Cat whispers to herself "You can't have straight up apple juice so we have to dilute it...two ounces of apple juice mixed with two ounces of baby water annnnnd bam! Baby cocktail! C'mere Lacey..."

Cat is hoping that if anything the cold apple juice will just help soothe her daughter's gums. It's special toddler apple juice so it's not too sugary and it won't keep her up.

"Okay, let's see if this helps..."

Cat sits down on the couch and shifts Lacey so she's cradled in her arms.

" _Goodnight, my angel, Time to close your eyes, And save these questions for another day._.." Cat sings softly, brushing a strand of hair out of Lacey's face " _I think I know what you've been asking me, I think you know what I've been trying to say, I promised I would never leave you, And you should always know, Wherever you may go, No matter where you are, I never will be far away_..."

Lacey grunts and lets out a sigh as she continues to drink, but her eyes are quickly growing heavy.

"That's better, isn't it baby girl?"


	59. Chapter 59

"I just don't want you to be alone or feel lonely on a holiday..." Tori says to Cat

"I won't." Cat assures her, switching her cell phone from one ear to the other as she follows Lacey around the apartment

For whatever reason, the baby seems to be full of energy today. She's been doing laps around the small studio all morning. The older she gets, the closer of an eye her mother needs to keep on her, as she's more likely to get into something that she shouldn't.

"How do you know you won't?"

"I have Lacey to keep me company." Cat reminds her friend "She's plenty entertaining- Ah! Hey, Lacey no!"

Lacey had pulled herself up on the futon and grabbed the television remote. The strange device had always been mesmerizing to the baby, why is Mommy always pointing it at the weird box in the corner? What does it do? Why am is she not allowed to play with it?

"That's not a toy for Lacey. Your toys are over there in the basket."

"Everything okay?" Tori asks

"Yeah, we're fine." Cat sighs "She can pull herself up on the furniture now. She just tried to grab the remote."

"Gotta start being more careful." Tori laughs

"Oh believe me I know."

"So is that a 'no' to dinner at Andre's aunt's?"

"Yeah, I think we'll pass this year." Cat nods "But thank you so much for offering."

"No problem." Tori assures her "We didn't want you to be by yourself if you didn't want to."

Cat doesn't really want to be by herself, but she certainly doesn't want to make a two hour car ride to San Diego with a nine month-old. They'll manage.

"I appreciate it." Cat nods "Now you guys better get on the road if you want to make it there on time."

"Yeah." Tori agrees with her "If _someone_ would just pick a shirt out already, we could leave."

"Hey!" Cat hears Andre call in the background "You know my aunt! I need to look presentable or she'll kill me!"

"You have fun with that." Cat chuckles

"Thanks, I will." Tori sighs "Give Lacey a kiss for me, okay?"

"Will do." Cat smiles "Happy Thanksgiving, Tori."

"Happy Thanksgiving."

There's a click and Cat's phone starts beeping, signaling that Tori has ended the call.

"So baby girl, what are you and I gonna do today?" Cat asks, sitting down on the floor next to her daughter "The parade will be on soon, I bet you'll enjoy that. All kinds of fun balloons and floats. Oh! And Santa is at the end!"

Cat had the day off from both Rosie's and Macy's because of the holiday, but she will have to go into work at Macy's the following morning for Black Friday. Which means Lacey, much to her delight, gets to spend the day with Aunt Jade and Uncle Beck because her daycare is closed.

Cat didn't want to impose on any of her friend's holiday plans, especially since she's now a packaged deal with Lacey. There's nothing wrong with spending the day just her and her baby. She doesn't plan on changing out of her sweatpants and tank top, and she doesn't see Lacey having a problem with getting to stay in her pajamas all day either. She has a frozen turkey dinner in the freezer for later, and a special turkey and vegetables flavored baby food for Lacey. It might not be much, but they don't need a lot. Not when they have each other.

Lacey crawls into Cat's lap and rests her head against her chest.

"Hi bug." Cat kisses the top of her head "Happy Thanksgiving."

Despite not actually having a lot right now, Cat feels she does actually have a lot to be thankful for this year. Even though it might not have been under the most ideal circumstances, just over nine months ago she was blessed with the most amazing baby girl. She gets to watch her daughter grow and learn more and more every day. And although her parents might not be around anymore, she has a group of wonderful friends supporting her and helping her every step of the way. Not to mention she's lucky enough to have two jobs that keep enough money coming in that she can give her daughter everything she needs. There might not always be a lot of money left over every month for her to spoil herself, but she doesn't care. Lacey's happiness and wellbeing are the most important things to her. Is her life in anyway normal? No. But would she want to change anything? Eighteen months ago she might have said yes, but now? She wouldn't change a single thing.

"I'm thankful for you today, sweetheart." She tells the baby "I know you don't understand what that means yet. But one day, you will. I'm very, _very_ thankful that I have you in my life. You're the best thing that has ever happened to me."

Lacey really truly has no idea what anything that was just said to her is supposed to mean, but just hearing the sound of her mother's voice and knowing that she is the one she is talking to is enough to make Lacey grin ear to ear up at Cat.

"You're the sweetest." Cat smiles, kissing the tip of the baby's nose "Never change, okay? Please, just stay my cute, innocent, adorable, little baby girl forever and ever, alright? Don't grow up."


	60. Chapter 60

"This place is a fucking zoo." Andre observes, looking around the crowd of people

"Shhh! Andre!" Cat exclaims, hugging Lacey to her chest and covering her ears "She's starting to figure out how to talk! You can't say stuff like that around her anymore or she'll start to repeat it!"

"Right, sorry." Andre apologizes, shoving his hands in his pockets "But look around, I'm not wrong."

"I know, it's a _little_ busy." Cat sighs "But it's her first Christmas! I can't not have a picture of her and Santa."

"She's right." Tori reminds her husband "Every kid needs a picture with Santa."

"I know, I can see that." Andre laughs "Every kid between the ages of one and nine who lives within a ten mile radius of this mall is here to see him right now."

"It's not that bad." Cat insists, shifting Lacey from one hip to her other "It's only a fifteen or so minute wait."

"Yeah for us, what about the three hundred people behind us?"

"Poor Santa."

The Christmas season hasn't been nearly as dreadful for Cat this year as the previous one was. As much as it hurts her to know she won't be spending it with her family again, she's relieved that she isn't spending it fighting with her mother like she did the year before. Not only that, but this year she won't be by herself. She wakes up every day to Lacey's bright and smiling face, and that's more than enough for her this holiday season.

"Ahbaga!" Lacey exclaims, throwing her arms up in the air and reaching out in Andre's direction

"Hey Lacey!" He smiles, taking the baby from Cat "How's it goin'?"

The baby smiles and places her hands on her uncle's face, smiling back at her mother.

"Who's got you, Lacey?" Cat laughs "Is that Uncle Andre?"

Lacey continues to smile, clapping her hands as Andre moves forward a bit, moving with the line.

"Hollywood Arts' semester break starts on the 20th and runs through January 5th." Tori says to Cat as they also both move forward "If you need me to watch her at all during that time, I totally can."

"I definitely need someone to watch her on Christmas Eve until like, five." Cat sighs "If you guys don't already have plans."

"I think we're going to my parents', but not until six thirty or sevenish." Tori tells her "We can totally watch her. Did Macy's schedule you that day?"

"Unfortunately." Cat rolls her eyes "I get Christmas day off and the say after, thank god. But I have to work that Friday. I was able to swing a half day on New Year's Eve and get the following day off, but everything else is normal."

"What about Rosie's?"

"Bridget is much more reasonable, trust me." Cat admits "I don't have to work at all on the 24th, 25th, 31st or 1st. But I do need to work the 26th unfortunately."

"I can take her that day too, if you want."

"That'd be great." Cat smiles "Thank you."

"I seriously don't mind." Tori assures her "I love that little girl to pieces."

"It's hard not to."

It's painfully obvious to Cat that Tori has a very strong baby wish. Unfortunately, it's also painfully obvious that Andre isn't quite yet ready for a child of his own. He loves Lacey to death, just like the rest of Cat's friends. But he is never responsible for her any longer than a day, then he gets to give her back to Cat and continue on with his life. Cat knows that he'll probably give into his wife soon, but it probably won't be as soon as Tori is hoping. So for now, she'll have to get her baby fix from Lacey. Which Cat doesn't mind, especially if it means saving money on daycare.

"What night are we doing our Christmas thing, again?" Cat asks Tori, pulling out her phone to look at her calendar

This year, the group of friends had decided to have a small Christmas party. They had each drawn a name for secret santa, and everyone was more than thrilled to have a baby around to spoil.

"The twenty-first." Tori responds "Time still to be determined because of Beck's filming schedule, but it's at our house."

"Assuming it's finished." Cat raises an eyebrow at her friend

"The builders said there's just one last inspection that needs to be done." Tori informs her friend, giddy with excitement "As long as everything passes we can start moving in next week."

"That's so exciting!" Cat smiles

"NEXT!" A less than thrilled looking woman in an elf costume calls

"That's you, Lacey!" Cat grins, taking her baby back from Andre "Let's go see Santa!"

The closer Cat gets to the man in the Santa costume, the more uneasy Lacey appears to become. She's never seen this man before. His suit is the same color as Mommy's hair, but that appears to be the only familiar thing about him.

As Cat places the baby down on the man's lap she immediately begins to whimper, reaching back towards her mother.

"Oh now don't worry, little one." Santa bounces Lacey lightly on his knee "Mommy isn't leaving you, she'll be right back."

"I'm so sorry." Cat apologizes "She's normally very laid-back."

"It's fine." Santa smiles "The first picture with Santa is always rough."

Cat can't help but chuckle to herself as she walks back behind the photographer to join Tori and Andre.

"What's her name?" The photographer asks

"Lacey." All three friends reply in unison, causing them to laugh

"Lacey!" The photographer calls "Lacey, look over here kiddo!"

Now completely terrified that her mom has left her with some strange man Lacey is beginning to cry, crocodile tears staining her cheeks.

"Baby look over here! Look at Mommy!" Cat calls to the little girl "Oh she probably hates me so much right now..."

"She'll forget about it as soon as you pick her up again." Andre assures her, patting her back

"I know, I still feel bad though." Cat sighs as she reaches into the diaper bag and pulls out Mittens the Kitten "Lacey look who I've got! It's Mittens!"

"If you want to try crouching in front of the camera, you can." The photographer offers

"Okay." Cat nods

At this point she knows that she won't get a picture of Lacey without any tears, but she'd at least like to get her looking in the general direction of the camera.

"Just look at the camera and then I can come get you..." Cat mutters to herself "Lacey! Look at Mommy, baby girl!"

"Lacey, where's Mommy?" Tori asks "Do you see Mommy?"

Lacey's eyes finally lock on her mom and the photographer is able to snap a quick picture.

"I'm so sorry, again." Cat apologizes when she picks Lacey up again

The baby clutches on to her so tight that Cat is taken off guard. She rubs the little girl's back in an effort to calm her down.

"It's not the first time it's happened to me, and it won't be the last." Santa winks "Merry Christmas."

"Thank you." Cat smiles "Merry Christmas."


	61. Chapter 61

"Come on baby girl, I know you've got it in you..." Cat sighs "Mama, Mama, Mama!"

Lacey grins at her mother, but says nothing in return. Instead, she sticks her first in her mouth and giggles.

"You're doing this to spite me." Cat laughs, holding Lacey in the air above her head and then lowering her down to plant a kiss on her nose before lifting her upwards again "I just know it."

"There's more of that angsty teenager behavior we saw when you were pregnant with her." Jade smirks

"I wonder where she gets _that_ from..." Cat gives her friend a knowing look as she lowers her daughter back into her lap

"Definitely not me..." Jade takes a sip of her wine "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"It's a nice place..." Beck smiles, re-entering the room with Tori and Andre "Congrats guys."

"Thank you." Tori grins, leaning against her husband's shoulder "Just a few more boxes to unpack and we'll be completely moved in."

Tonight is the first time the small group of friends have all been together at Tori and Andre's new house. Both Cat and Jade had been there the previous weekend helping them unpack boxes, but Beck had been filming. Now they were all here, and they could finally have their little christmas party.

Lacey begins to whine and reach towards the floor, so Cat quickly kisses the top of her head and places her down so she can play. The baby immediately crawls over to the Christmas tree in the corner of the living room and stops, staring up at the lights in absolute amazement.

"Looks like someone likes the lights." Tori laughs, sitting down on the couch next to Cat

"You should see our tree..." Cat shakes her head "She's pulled a majority of the pine needles off the bottom of it, and it just looks sad. Oh, and there's only ornaments on the top half because she was pulling them off the bottom."

"It's a good thing we haven't put any ornaments on yet."

"They'd all be on the floor by now."

"There's no point in putting ornaments up now." Jade remarks "Christmas is in four days. You'd be putting them all up just to take them back down again in a week."

"I know." Tori sighs "The timing was awful this year. I only got a Christmas tree for like a week."

Her and Andre hadn't put a tree up at their apartment because they knew they would be moving and didn't want to worry about the hassle of transferring it from one location to another.

"Don't worry, next year will be even more spec...Lacey!" Cat exclaims, jumping off the couch and running to grab her daughter who had taken it upon herself to start opening the gifts under the tree "No no, that's not yours!"

Frustrated, Lacey begins to fuss and break out of her mother's grip.

"Nope, you can't play with those."

"C'mere junior." Beck laughs, walking over and taking the baby from Cat "You can open the presents that have your name on them."

"She can't read, Beck." Jade says

"I'm aware." He tells his girlfriend, sitting down on the floor with Lacey on his lap "That's why I'll hand her the presents and let her go to town. Is that okay, Cat?"

"Be my guest." Cat chuckles, returning to her seat on the couch

She'll get to spend Christmas Eve and all day Christmas Eve with her daughter, she'll let Beck help her tonight if he wants to.

"Alright, what have we got here?" Beck picks up the first box "Its from Aunt Tori and Uncle Andre. Go ahead and go for it."

After examining the box in front of her for a few seconds Lacey lunges forward and begins tearing at the wrapping paper, causing all of the adults in the room to laugh.

"What is it?" Cat asks

"It's a baby music set!" Beck grins, trying to get Lacey excited "There's a drum, some maracas, and a xylophone!"

"I have a headache already." Cat smiles "Thanks, guys."

"I'm a music teacher, Andre is a music producer...we couldn't not get the music toys." Tori explains

"I know." She laughs "I'm sure she'll love playing with them. Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"Lace, when you're a bit older I'll teach you how to play some real instruments." Andre promises "But for now you have fun with those."

"There's an outfit too." Tori tells Cat "I didn't think she'd have as much fun opening that one, remind me before you leave and I'll give it to you."

"Okay, Lacey. This one is from me." Beck smiles "It's not as much fun as a music set, but I think you'll still enjoy it."

"I would just like to point out that I wrapped this gift." Jade informs her friends as Lacey rips into the paper "Because Beckett over there is incompetent."

"Not entirely..." Beck sighs "But yeah, I needed help."

The paper is torn away to reveal a sleeve of wooden blocks with an 'I Love My Uncle' t-shirt wrapped around it.

"Oh boy, Lacey. Blocks!" Cat smiles "You love those!"

"Cat, you'll love them too." Jade says "Beck, pass those over here."

"Here you go." Beck passes the sleeve of blocks to Cat before returning to Lacey

There are five blocks that all have a different letter on them, spelling out L-A-C-E-Y.

"Woah, these are so cool!" Cat smiles "Where did you find these, Beck?"

"It's amazing what you can find on the internet." He winks "Okay Lace, one more from Aunt Jade."

Cat already knew what Jade had gotten for Lacey, because she had called and asked permission. It wasn't an expensive toy, or really all that big. But she wanted to make sure it wasn't something Cat had already planned on getting her.

"A learning activity table!" Beck exclaims, trying to get the now bored-with-presents baby interested again "It lights up and plays music, and all kinds of other fun stuff!"

"Can you put that together for her, Beck?" Cat laughs

"Of course I can." Beck assures her "Piece of cake."

"I think it's time for us to open our presents now." Jade says "I'm dying to know who my secret Santa is."

While Beck moves to distribute the adults' presents Lacey locks eyes on her mom and crawls over to Cat's feet, smacking her shins and demanding up.

"Hey there, Peanut." She kisses the baby's cheek "Merry Almost-Christmas."


	62. Chapter 62

" _Our cheeks are nice and rosy a_ _nd comfy cozy are we_..." Cat sings along to the Christmas music playing from her car's radio " _We're snuggled up together l_ _ike two birds of a feather would be_...oh I'll miss Christmas music."

It's Christmas Eve and she had just gotten off of work for the evening. She's picked Lacey up from Tori and Andre's and now they're both on their way back to the apartment to spend the rest of the evening together, just the two of them.

"I can't wait until you're old enough to sing along with me, too." She tells the baby sitting in the backseat "That will be so much fun!"

However as of right now, she's still waiting to hear Lacey's first word. So singing is going to be a long ways off still.

Cat pulls her car into the alleyway behind the bakery, cuts the ignition, and climbs out; she moves to the back of the vehicle to retrieve her daughter.

"Okay baby girl, first thing's first, we gotta get some dinner." She tells the baby as she pulls her out of her carseat "After that you're going to have to take a bath. Hopefully we can get all of that done by 7:30 so we can watch Rudolf on TV! Gotta make sure you get to bed on time though, otherwise Santa won't visit."

Although Lacey isn't quite old enough to understand the concept of Santa Claus, Cat is still excited to get to play along for her first time as a parent.

"I can't wait for your first Christmas." Cat whispers to the baby, kissing her cheek before unlocking the back door to the bakery and stepping inside

"Is that you, Cat?" A voice calls from the storefront

"It is." Cat singsongs back

"Good." George Thompson appears in the doorway that leads to the front of the store "We were hoping to catch you before we locked up for the night."

"You found me." She smiles, waling towards him "What's up?"

"I whipped up an extra batch of cinnamon rolls for you to have for breakfast tomorrow morning." George offers, pulling a box out from the display case "If you want."

"Of course." Cat grins "I love these! Did you find the gift I left for you in your office?"

The bakery had been swamped when Cat left for work earlier this morning, so both George and Rebecca had been in the front helping customers. Not wanting to be a distraction, Cat had left her Christmas gift for them in their office, just in case she wasn't home in time to give it to them tonight. It wasn't much. But after everything they had done for her since her return to California, she couldn't let the holiday pass without giving them _something_.

"We did." Rebecca says from behind her husband "Thank you for thinking of us, Cat. It was very generous."

"It's the least I could do." Cat admits "You guys have done so much for me over the past year and a half."

"Don't even mention it." George holds a hand up to stop her "We're happy to help. Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas."

* * *

"He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work, and filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk," Cat reads "And laying his finger aside of his nose, and giving a nod, up the chimney he rose; He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle, and away they all flew like the down of a thistle. But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight— 'Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!'"

Lacey, who had been listening intently to the story, yawns and rubs her eyes, falling back against her mother's body. The little girl is clad in a pair of red fleece footed pajamas that are covered in cartoon presents and reindeer, with reindeer faces on the feet. There's a small patch on the left chest that says 'My First Christmas'. Cat had seen them on a rack at Macy's right around Black Friday, and absolutely fell in love with them.

"You're not tired, are you Lacey?" Cat chuckles "You were so full of energy half an hour ago."

But that was before her bedtime bottle, and before the story that had basically lulled her almost to sleep.

She yawns again and Cat knows that she'll have no issue getting her to sleep tonight.

"I don't know what you and Aunt Tori did today, but you sure see worn out." Cat chuckles, carrying Lacey over to her crib "You can go play with her _any_ day."

She lays the baby down in her crib and as she moves to grab a blanket, notices that a huge grin is plastered across Lacey's face.

"Merry Christmas, Bug." Cat smiles, draping the blanket over the infants body before kissing her forehead "I love you so much, tomorrow is going to be the best day ever."

* * *

"Look at you, Lacey!" Cat exclaims from behind her cell phone "Come over here, come to Mommy!"

Grinning, Lacey pushes her new toy across the apartment while her mother captures it all on video.

Her new 'Learn With Me Zebra" walker is by far Lacey's favorite Christmas present. She won't even part with it long enough for Cat to change her outfit, so she pushes it around the apartment still in her pajamas. Cat thinks its probably because she enjoys the new kind of mobility she didn't have before. Walking is faster than crawling, even if you're using a cart for support. However, she knows that walking independently won't be too far off now, and the idea of her little baby not being so little or babyish anymore is breaking her heart.

"Such a big girl." Cat smiles, ending the recording and sticking her phone in her pocket "I take it you like your new walker, huh?"

Cat sinks to the floor and sits back on her knees and Lacey crawls over to her, placing both of her hands on either of her mother's legs.

"Hi Peanut." Cat chuckles

A grin spreads across the baby's face as she pushes herself into a standing position.

"Be careful." Cat warns, grabbing the baby's hands and helping her stand a little straighter "Yeah, now that you've got the general idea, you'll be doing this a lot more often, huh?"

"Mmmmmm..." Lacey babbles, still smiling

"Mama?" Cat says hopefully "Come on kid, I've been waiting months for this. Can you say it? Say Mama. Ma. Ma."

"Mmmmma..." Lacey stammers "Ma..ma!"

"Oh my gosh." Cat grins "You said it. You actually said it! Mama?"

"Mama!" Lacey giggles

She's not really sure why Mommy is even happier than normal all of a sudden, but she must've done _something_ right.

"That's right, I'm Mama." Cat is so happy she could almost cry as she picks her daughter up and hugs her to her chest "Merry Christmas, Alacia. I love you."


	63. Chapter 63

On New Years Eve, five adults sit and watch as ten month-old Alacia pushes her zebra walker around Beck's apartment. The little girl smiles and giggles almost uncontrollably as she explores her new mobility; there's so much more room to walk around here than there is at home.

"She must be sleeping more." Jade remarks as she watches her goddaughter "That thing looks like it would wear her out."

"In theory that's what you would think would happen, yeah." Cat chuckles "She definitely goes down easier, but she sleeps for about the same amount of time. Maybe even less, now that her growth spurt is over."

"That's incredibly unfortunate."

"I know."

The only issue Lacey seems to have with her walker is that she still isn't quite sure how to steer it. So when the infant pushes the small cart straight into a wall and falls backwards onto her bottom, it doesn't take long for tears of frustration to start flowing.

Andre was closest and he has her in his arms in a matter of seconds, bouncing her gently and assuring her that she's okay. But as loving and as gentle as Uncle Andre is, Lacey doesn't want to be held by him right now. She wants to be held by

"Mama..." Lacey sniffs, reaching her arms out towards Cat

"You're okay, Bug." Cat assures her daughter as she takes her into her arms "It wasn't that bad of a fall, you'll live."

She kisses the top of Lacey's head and rubs her back gently as her four other friends look on in almost disbelief.

"What?" She raises an eyebrow at them

"She knew who you were." Beck says

"I would certainly hope she knows who I am."

"I knew she could say 'Mama' I just didn't know she could use it in context." Tori tells her "That was adorable."

"What can I say?" Cat chuckles "She's a smart kid."

* * *

"You're not tired yet, are you Lacey?" Beck asks his goddaughter, who is resting comfortably on the couch next to him

Her head is resting against his side as she yawns and rubs her eyes, signaling to everyone in the room that she most definitely is _extremely_ tired.

"Come on kid." Beck nudges her "It's barely ten thirty."

"That's a lot later than she's used to normally being up." Cat tells him, walking over to the diaper bag by the door "I'm surprised she's made it this far, honestly."

Cat grabs a baby bottle already full of the appropriate amount of nursery water and a container of pre-measured formula out of the bag and begins preparing Lacey's bedtime bottle.

"Oh shit." She shakes her head when she looks in the bag again

"Everything okay?" Beck asks

"Yeah it's fine. I just forgot about pajamas." Cat chuckles, holding up Lacey's pajama set

"I can do it, if you want." Jade offers

"Be my guest." Cat says, walking over and handing her best friend the pajama set and a new diaper

"C'mere Lacey." Jade stands up to retrieve the baby from her boyfriend "Pajama time for you."

Lacey yawns again as Beck hands her off to Jade, and Cat knows it's more than likely Lacey won't even finish her entire bottle before she falls asleep.

"Must everything this child wears be pink?" Jade sighs when she re-enters the room with Lacey

"I wouldn't necessarily call those pink." Tori says, looking at Lacey's pajamas "They're more of a peachy color."

"Whatever." Jade rolls her eyes "Here's your kid."

"Thank you." Cat smiles at her friend, taking the baby into her lap "Say goodnight, Lacey."

One by one, each of Cat's friends come over and kiss the baby either on the cheek or on the stop of her head and say a quick goodnight.

"You can put her down in my room." Beck offers "It might be easier for her to sleep in there; less chance of us waking her up."

"Thanks, that's a good idea." Cat says, standing up and carrying Lacey into the bedroom, closing the door behind her "Alright, sweetie. Let's get you to sleep."

She hands the baby her stuffed kitten, which she clutches tightly as Cat slips the rubber bottle nipple into her mouth. Almost immediately after she starts drinking, Lacey's eyes begin to grow heavy. Within ten minutes, she's fast asleep.

Cat turns and gently lays the baby down in the middle of the bed, away from any edges in case she rolls, and covers her with one of her favorite blankets. She looks so sweet and so innocent, which she is. Cat can hardly believe that she's less than two months shy of being a year old, it seems like only yesterday she was barely big enough to fit into newborn clothes.

"Goodnight, baby girl." Cat whispers, kissing her daughter's forehead "See you next year."

* * *

"One glass of champagne will not get you drunk, Caterina." Jade groans "It's not even a _full_ glass."

"Fine." Cat sighs, taking the glass from her friend "I'll bite."

She hasn't drank _at all_ since before Lacey was born. Never in a million years would she have dreamed of doing it while she was pregnant, and in the months since the baby was born she hasn't been able to find the time or even an appropriate moment.

"We're down to two minutes." Andre announces, looking at the TV screen "It's almost 2020."

"Jesus Christ, where did the time go?" Jade asks "I feel like I graduated high school last month."

"Well, now we're grown ups with houses and jobs and all kinds of fun stuff." Tori laughs

"Ninety seconds."

A year ago Cat had been so busy fretting over the rapidly approaching arrival of her daughter that she had barely been able to enjoy New Year's. Now, she's a little less worried about being a parent, but still just as worried about everything else.

"5...4...3...2...1...HAPPY NEW YEAR!" Everyone in the apartment exclaims

Cat winces, afraid they might wake Lacey. But no cries erupt from the bedroom, and they're safe.

Jade kisses Beck, Tori kisses Andre, and Cat is left to take a sip of her champagne. There hadn't been anyone for her to kiss last year either, but that doesn't make it any less painful. She thinks about the last New Year's kiss she had shared with Robbie. They had been in Times Square, watching the ball drop and welcoming in 2018. The year they had graduated college, the year she had gotten pregnant, and the year they had broken up and disappeared from each other's life more than likely forever. Cat can't help but wonder where he was tonight, who he had been with, if he had anyone to kiss...

"Cat?" Jade says

"Hm?"

"Cheers?"

"Oh. Right." Cat raises her glass and taps it against those of her friends "Cheers."

"Happy New Year, everybody." Beck smiles "May it be the best one yet."


	64. Chapter 64

The start of the new year hits Cat a whole lot harder than she was expecting it to.

In about five weeks her little girl, who has seems to grow bigger every time she turns around, is going to be a whole year old. It seems like only a month ago she was still living in New York, going to school and working part time to make sure she always had a little extra cash. Now her daughter is almost one? It's surreal to her, thinking about it makes her want to cry. She wishes Lacey could stay little forever.

Cat knows that Lacey's first birthday isn't going to be as grand of a celebration as she had always pictured her first child's being. Her parents aren't around, and obviously Robbie's aren't either. So the party will probably be a small get together of her friends, maybe George and Rebecca, and maybe Tori's parents, but that would be about it. Then again, it doesn't really matter who is there or not, what matters is that Lacey's birthday is celebrated. And it most certainly will be.

But more important things will happen this year too. Hopefully Cat and Lacey will be able to move out of the shoebox studio and into something where they'll have a little more room, at least that's what Cat is hoping and praying for. She's also hoping and praying that sometime in the next twelve months she'll be able to start in the beginning processes of opening her own clothing store, something she's been dreaming about for almost five or six years now. And if she wants to be taken seriously in the professional world, she knows she needs to make a small change and she might as well just make that change now.

"Hey Cat, what's up?" Tori greets her when she answers her friend's call

"Would you or Andre or both be able to watch Lacey on Saturday?" Cat asks hopefully "Like around two?"

"Of course we can!" Tori assures her "Are you picking up an extra shift?"

"No." Cat shakes her head "Not this time."

* * *

"Are you ready?" The hair stylist asks

"About as ready as I'll ever be." Cat chuckles nervously "New year, new me, right?"

"You look great, hon. Don't worry." The stylist smiles, spinning Cat's chair around to face the mirror

"Oh wow." Cat laughs "It looks so much better than I was expecting."

It's been almost nine years since Cat's hair was it's natural color. Of course she hadn't been dying it red while she was pregnant with Lacey and it had faded, but it wasn't it's true chocolate brown, almost black, color. And right away after Lacey was born, she had started dying it again. But now, staring at herself in the hair salon's mirror, Cat doesn't think she actually looks half bad. Not to mention it won't clash horribly with her Rosie's uniform like the red did.

"Do you want to cut it at all?" The stylist asks "Go for a completely new look altogether?"

"Oh no, thank you." Cat shakes her head "I'm not feeling _that_ brave today."

"Alright." The woman chuckles, unhooking the cape from around Cat's neck and removing it "Well, you're all set then. They'll take care of you at the front."

"Thanks so much." Cat tells her, standing up

Taking one last glance at herself in the mirror, Cat decides that her brown hair makes her look older. Not in a bad way, but in a more mature way. She looks like she could be a business woman, maybe. She looks more her age.

But of course she's worried about Lacey seeing her. All of her life, Mommy has always had red hair. What if she doesn't recognize her? She knows that babies are able to recognize their mothers by smell when they're first born, but how long does that last? What if she cries and doesn't want to go with her? She's not old enough to understand.

"Thanks, have a nice day." The woman at the salon's register says to Cat as she hands over her credit card and her receipt

"Thank you, you too." Cat nods, stuffing her wallet back into her purse and exiting the building.

* * *

"It looks really good." Tori assures her friend the minute she opens the door

"Does it really?" Cat sighs "Or are you just saying that?"

"No it really does." Tori nods as Cat enters the house, closing the door behind her "Is that your natural color?"

"Mhm." Cat responds "You really think it looks good?"

"I do!"

"Good." Cat smiles, twisting a lock of hair around her index finger "Because I kinda missed it."

"You did?"

"A little bit." She smirks "But I didn't realize that I missed it until I had it back."

"That makes sense."

"How was she?" Cat asks, referencing her daughter "Not too much trouble, I hope."

The more days that go by, the more confident Lacey becomes. She has become quite a fan of pulling herself up on the furniture and cruising around, which normally wouldn't be a bad thing. But for someone who isn't used to it, it could come as quite the surprise.

"She was an angel, as usual." Tori grins "She's in the living room playing with Andre."

"I'm worried she won't recognize me." Cat admits as the two women start making their way to the next room "She's only known me with the red."

"She knows your face." Tori assures her "That's all she needs. Lacey, baby? Look who's back!"

"Who is that, Lace?" Andre gasps "Is that Mommy?"

"Hi Bug!" Cat smiles, kneeling down on the floor

Lacey turns to face her mom, a puzzled look on her face. She looks from Andre to Cat to Tori and then back to Cat again.

"It's me, baby girl." Cat says, pulling her hair back behind her shoulders "My hair is just a different color now."

Lacey, who is still confused, crawls closer to her mom and sits back on her knees, placing her hands on Cat's face.

"Hi Bug." Cat says again, kissing the baby's hand "How's it going'?"

"Mama." A grin spreads across Lacey's face

"That's me." Cat chuckles "I'm Mama."


	65. Chapter 65

"Mamamamamamamamama..." Lacey babbles as she rests her head against Cat's shoulder

"That's my name, kiddo." Cat chuckles "Don't wear it out."

In reality, the 'ma' sound is really the only sound Lacey has figured out how to make. Cat isn't even sure if she has registered that her name is 'Mama', but the baby certainly knows her mother will respond to it.

The two of them make their way across the Hollywood Art's visitor's parking lot, heading towards the front door. Cat had been promising Tori for a while now that if she ever got a day off, she would bring Lacey to visit her at work during lunchtime. And since Lacey had a doctor's appointment this morning, Cat needed to take today off from Macy's anyway, so why not?

Hitting the buzzer that calls to the main office, Cat shifts Lacey's diaper bag from one shoulder to another, waiting for a response.

"Hi, can I help you?" A voice comes from a loudspeaker on the brick wall

"Yeah, hi." Cat responds "We're here to see Tori Harris. My name is Cat, I should be on the list."

"Cat Valentine?"

"That's me."

"Yup, you're on the list! Come on in!"

There's a buzzing sound and the door in front of Cat pops open, allowing her grab the handle and gain entry into the school.

Cat hasn't been in the front of the school in almost six years, not since she graduated. She had come to help Tori set up her classroom a few summers back when she first got her job, but they had entered and exited through a side door using Tori's key. The foyer looks like it's maybe gotten a fresh coat of paint since Cat and her friends attended, and obviously the pictures of the students on the wall have been replaced with those of students who actually attend. But aside from that, everything looks almost the same.

Approaching the sign-in window attached to the front office, Cat places the bag of Nozu take-out she had brought along down on the counter and picks up the stray pen next to the sign-in clipboard so she can sign her name.

"Oh hello there, sweetheart!" One of the office secretaries coos

Cat is confused for a moment, thinking the woman might be talking to her. But after she finishes signing in and gets a chance to look up it becomes quite clear that the greeting was meant for Lacey, who is smiling with her fist in her mouth.

"She's the cutest thing I've ever seen!" The secretary comments "How old is she?"

"Almost a year." Cat tells her

Man oh man, how time flies.

"Such a big girl!" She smiles, taking the clipboard so she can fill out Cat's visitor's badge "Valentine...Valentine...why does that name sound so familiar? Did you have any siblings that have gone here?"

"No ma'am." Cat shakes her head "But I did, actually. That's how I know Tori. We graduated in 2014!"

"I knew you looked familiar!" The woman grins, replacing the clipboard and handing Cat her stick-on badge "Well, welcome back."

"Thank you." Cat chuckles "I'm assuming the staff lounge is where it's always been?"

"That's correct."

"Okay, thank you." Cat picks up the bag of food and continues into the building, turning down the all-too-familiar front hallway

"Mamamamama..." Lacey continues to say

"Shhhh Lacey baby..." Cat tells her "There's classes going on. We've gotta be quiet."

"Mamma..."

"Oh goodness..." Cat sighs

The walk from the front door to the staff lounge isn't a long one and as soon as Cat opens the door, Tori spots them immediately.

"Hi guys!" She smiles as Lacey reaches out for her "Thanks for coming to see me!"

"Of course!" Cat tells her "We brought sushi too."

"Awesome. Here come this way." Tori nods towards one of the tables

Despite attending this school for all four years of high school, Cat has never been in this room. And she has to admit finally getting to do so, even if she _is_ an adult now, makes her feel kind of badass.

"So _these_ are the special visitors who were coming to see you today!" A familiar voice says

"Sikowitz!" Cat exclaims

"Hello Cat." He smiles, standing up to hug her "It's been a while."

"I know, I'm sorry." She apologizes "I've been so busy..."

"I can see that." He chuckles "Hello there, Miss Alacia. It's nice to finally get the chance to meet you. Your Aunt Tori _loves_ showing off pictures of you. You look just like your Mama, do you know that?"

Slightly uncomfortable, Lacey turns and nuzzles her face into Tori's shoulder.

"Stranger anxiety." Cat explains "Don't take it personally."

"No worries." Sikowitz smiles "I get it Lacey, I'm a little funny looking."

All three adults laugh as they sit down at the table Tori and Sikowitz had claimed for themselves.

"I'm so sorry, Sikowitz." Cat sighs "If I had known you two had the same lunch period I would've asked what you wanted from Nozu."

"No worries." Sikowitz assures her "I've got leftovers that needed to be eaten. So, this little girl has to be almost a year old, am I correct?"

"You are." Cat nods "She'll be one on February eighteenth."

"My oh my..." Sikowitz chuckles "Last time I saw you, you were still pregnant with her, and that feels like it was only yesterday. Time sure does fly, huh?"

"You're telling' me." Cat sighs "I can't believe how quickly she's growing up."

"Who knows?" Tori raises an eyebrow at her friend "Before long, she might even be going to school here."

"Slow down." Cat laughs "Let's work on walking first before we work on high school."

"That's true. In order to go to high school, you have to be able to say something other than 'Mama'." Tori says, standing Lacey up on her lap "Isn't that right, Lace? Can you say 'Tori' for me? Please? Tor-i. Tor-i."

"Good luck with that." Cat rolls her eyes


	66. Chapter 66

February 17th, 11:57 PM

Cat Valentine is awake and staring at the ceiling, there's no way sleep will come to her anytime soon.

Rolling onto her stomach, she turns to look at the digital clock on her dresser just as the minute switches to 11:58. In two minutes it will be midnight. In two minutes it will be February 18th. In two minutes, her baby girl will be a whole year old.

And she's not ready for that.

As often as she says it, it really does feel like Lacey was born not that long ago. Maybe it doesn't feel like yesterday anymore, but it still definitely feels very recent. She understands now what her mother meant all those times that she said 'it seems like only yesterday we were bringing you home from the hospital' or 'it seems like only yesterday I was walking you in to your first day of preschool'. When you have a child, time seems to pass at a rate a million times faster than reality. They grow up right before your very eyes and there's nothing you can do.

11:59

She wishes there was a way to slow down time, so she could enjoy as much of Lacey while she is little as she can. The hardest part about being a single parent is that she's the only source of income. Part of her hates herself for being at work a majority of the time, her daughter has spent a majority of her life in the care of people who aren't her. But yet every morning when she wakes up, and every night when Cat picks her up from daycare, the little girl smiles and early reaches out for the person she knows is her mommy. There's an unconditional love and bond between the two of them that will always be there as long as they both are alive, probably even longer. But Cat still wishes she would stay little forever. She's not ready for school, or driving, or hell, even walking.

12:00

"No..." Cat whispers to herself

She can't seem to stop herself as she throws the blankets off her body and pulls herself out of bed, creeping quietly across the room to Lacey's crib. Peering over the railing Cat is cautious not to wake her daughter, she's emotional enough as it is right now and she doesn't need to add a cranky baby on top of that.

Lacey is fast asleep on her stomach, limbs sprawled out from her body with Mittens tucked under her arm. It's a precious sight. The baby is completely oblivious that today is going to be such a special day and won't be old enough to understand for quite some time, but Cat still can't keep herself from crying as she watches her daughter sleep. She covers her mouth and nose with her hand so the noise is muffled, almost silent.

 _"She's here." The doctor smiles as a baby's cry fills the room "Congratulations, Cat. It's a little girl."_

 _"Oh my god." Cat gasps, tears of pain turning to tears of joy_

 _Of course, she knew it was going to be a girl, but everything still feels so surreal._

 _"Who's cutting the cord?" a nurse asks_

 _"Godmother..." Cat pants, still trying to catch her breath, pointing to Jade_

 _"Me?" Jade asks, shocked_

 _"Yeah." Cat nods "You."_

 _The nurse hands the scissors to Jade and she cuts the baby's umbilical cord. The nurse then wipes off her mouth and nose before spreading a towel on Cat's chest and laying the screaming infant down._

 _"Oh my god," Cat gasps, looking down at the baby in absolute awe "You're so beautiful!"_

 _She presses a kiss to her daughter's forehead, not even caring that she's still covered in blood and other fluids._

 _Nine months of waiting, and she's finally meeting her daughter. She's screaming, covered in gunk, and her skin is bright red and blotchy, but Cat has never seen anything so beautiful._

"Happy Birthday, Alacia Avery." She whispers "Mommy loves you, always."

* * *

"I can vividly remember the first time I held her..." Cat says as she watches Lacey roll around in the grass with Beck "She was so small I thought I was going to break her."

Lacey's birthday party isn't anything extravagant. Tori and Andre offered to host since Cat's apartment was becoming cramped; it's just them, Beck, Jade, and George and Rebecca, who had offered to provide a cake without Cat even having to ask.

"I remember." Jade nods, taking a sip of her beer "I had never held a newborn baby until I held her."

"And now you're an expert." Cat chuckles "You're welcome."

"I wouldn't exactly call myself an expert." Jade smirks "You're definitely the expert here in this situation."

"I'm not even close..." Cat continues to watch her daughter "I'm still learning every day."

"Isn't that what parenthood is all about?"

"I suppose so." Cat shrugs

The presents have been opened, Lacey has destroyed her smash cake and been unwillingly forced into a bath, Cat took a million pictures, and now everyone is just sitting around in the backyard. It's a beautiful evening for February.

"Hey Mama." Tori appears through the sliding glass door that leads from the kitchen onto the patio "How you holding' up?"

"Better than I thought I would." Cat admits "Seeing her so happy makes it easier, even though she won't remember any of it."

"You'll have plenty of pictures to show her." Tori reminds her

"Yeah, I guess that's true." Cat sighs "Gosh, if a year flew by that fast I'm so nervous for the next seventeen."

"Just don't blink and you'll be fine."

"Thanks, Jade."

"It's what I'm here for."

"Im glad I came back here." Cat tells her two friends "I couldn't have made it though the past year, or even the months prior without you guys. I don't know what I would have done."

"We'll always be here when you need us." Jade nudges her "You know that."

"Yeah." Cat smiles at the ground "I know. And as useless as I may be, I'll always be here if you guys ever need me too."

"You're not useless." Jade laughs "I can't imagine what my life would be like without you in it."

"Yeah." Tori agrees "You have no idea how much help I'm going to need from you in the hopefully very near future."

"What do you mean?" Cat raises an eyebrow at her

"Yeah. What _do_ you mean?" Jade asks

"I finally got Andre to agree to start trying for a baby." Tori grins "Hopefully by Lacey's second birthday she'll either have a new cousin or about to have one real soon."

"That's so great, Tori. Congratulations!" Cat exclaims

"Congratulations." Jade agrees

"Don't congratulate me yet." Tori chuckles "I mean, I could get pregnant tomorrow or I might not get pregnant for months. Who knows? Life is unpredictable."

"Definitely unpredictable." Cat nods, watching Beck pick Lacey up and start carrying her in their direction "But always worth it, no matter how it works out."

"I think someone is getting sleepy." Beck announces as he approaches the group of women

"Aw, c'mere baby." Cat coos, extending her arms and taking the baby from him "You can sit with Mama for a while."

"Mama." Lacey nuzzles her face into Cat's chest, rubbing her eyes

"That's me." Cat smiles, kissing the top of her daughter's head "I hope you had a good birthday."

"She did." Beck assures her "She told me herself while we were playing over there."

"I'm sure she did." Cat chuckles

"Do you know where your husband might be?" Beck asks Tori

"He's inside talking to George and Rebecca." Tori tells him

"I'll be inside." Beck says to Jade, kissing her cheek and disappearing into the house

"And hopefully by her second birthday he will have worked up the courage to propose to you." Tori says to Jade

"Hopefully." Jade agrees

Lacey lets out a loud yawn and cuddles as close as she possibly can to Cat's body.

"She's finally come down off that sugar high." Cat laughs

"You can lay her down in our room, if you want." Tori offers

"I think I'll keep her here for a little while longer, but thank you." Cat says

She gently rubs the baby's back and presses kisses to the top of her head as Lacey slowly begins to drift off to sleep. Two years ago if you had told Cat Valentine that this is what her life would be like now, she would have laughed because she wouldn't believe you. She always wanted to have kids, but not like this. However, after the past year, after Lacey, and after knowing what she knows now, she wouldn't have wanted the past two years of her life to have gone any other way. Sure, it would have been great to have had Robbie on board, but she and Lacey managed just fine on her own. They've got each other and their friends and that's all they need. They're doing great on their own.

"Happy Birthday, Lacey." Cat says softly to the baby "You're the greatest gift I've ever received. I love you so much."

* * *

 ** _Hi all! I know it was a little_** ** _abrupt, but as of right now this is where I'm going to end this story. With school starting again and everything else, I didn't want to leave you guys hanging. So I thought this would be a good place to end it. If you're interested in what happens to Cat and Lacey after this point and you haven't read "Our Little Secret" or "It's Moments Like These" I would definitely check those out. (Note: I wrote "Our Little Secret" when I was 14 so it's not the best or nearly as dramatic as it probably should be, but it gets the job done) Thank you to everyone who has supported me and this story, your support means so much to me! I'm not exactly sure what my future on this website holds, but I'm excited to see what happens! Thank you all again so much._**

 ** _~XOXO_**


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